Yokohama Marinos vs Shandong Taishan, With one goal difference, can the visiting team reverse the situation?
In their second consecutive away match in the Champions League, Yokohama wasted no time and found the back of the net just seven minutes into their opening quarter-final fixture last Wednesday. This early goal proved to be sufficient for securing a narrow victory.
As a result, they are on the verge of progressing to the semi-finals of this tournament for the first time in the club's history. Remarkably, they maintain an undefeated record in this competition when scoring in the opening half.The sole remaining Chinese team in the competition faces a formidable challenge to progress beyond the quarter-final stage, aiming for an unprecedented achievement in the club's history.
In the previous month, Shandong secured an away victory in the knockout phase for the first time, triumphing with a 4-2 scoreline against the Japanese side Kawasaki.
The Taishan Dui squad draws encouragement from their round of 16 success over Kawasaki, marking the first instance in which the team advanced from a Champions League knockout tie after losing the opening game.