2015 AFC Champions League final

2015 AFC Champions League Final
Event2015 AFC Champions League
on aggregate
First leg
Date7 November 2015
VenueAl-Rashid Stadium, Dubai
AFC Man of the MatchZheng Zhi (Guangzhou Evergrande)[1]
RefereeKim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)
Attendance9,480
WeatherClear and warm
25 °C (77 °F)
62% humidity[1]
Second leg
Date21 November 2015
VenueTianhe Stadium, Guangzhou
AFC Man of the MatchElkeson (Guangzhou Evergrande)[2]
RefereeRavshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
Attendance42,499
WeatherHot
27 °C (81 °F)
88% humidity[2]
2014
2016

The 2015 AFC Champions League Final was the final of the 2015 AFC Champions League, the 34th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 13th under the current AFC Champions League title.

The final was contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Emiratis team Al-Ahli and Chinese team Guangzhou Evergrande. The first leg hosted by Al-Ahli at Al-Rashid Stadium in Dubai on 7 November 2015, while the second leg hosted by Guangzhou Evergrande at the Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou on 21 November 2015. Having previously won the tournament in 2013 Guangzhou Evergrande has making its second final appearance in three years.

Guangzhou Evergrande won the final 1–0 on aggregate and as Asian champions earned the right to represent the AFC at the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, entering at the quarterfinal stage.

Qualified teams

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Team Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
United Arab Emirates Al-Ahli None
China Guangzhou Evergrande 2013

Venues

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The Al-Rashid Stadium hosted first leg of the final.
The Tianhe Stadium hosted second leg of the final.

The 2015 AFC Champions League Final was contested in two-legged home-and-away format, held at the home of both finalists. It was the third consecutive year that the AFC adopted such an arrangement.

Al-Ahli's home venue, Al-Rashid Stadium, is a 9,415 seated stadium located in the city of Dubai.

Two previous final has been held in United Arab Emirates. The first one was in the first leg of the 2002–03 final, Al Ain defeated BEC Tero Sasana F.C. 2–0 in Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium in the city of Al Ain, and they eventually claimed the title 2–1 on aggregate. The second one was 10 years ago, in the first leg of the 2005 final, Al Ain was defeated by Saudis' team, Al-Ittihad, and they eventually lost the title 3–5 on aggregate.

Guangzhou Evergrande's home venue, Tianhe Stadium, is a 58,500 seated stadium located in the city of Guangzhou.

In the history of the competition, two finals have been held in China and this final will be the third, and the second that Guangzhou hosted. The first final hosted by a Chinese city in 1989–90, which was won by Chinese side Liaoning FC 3–2 against Nissan Yokohama in the city of Shenyang. The next final, the 2013 and second leg of the 2013, was hosted in Guangzhou. The 2013 final was won by Guangzhou Evergrande on the away goals rule with 3–3 on aggregate.

Road to the final

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Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

United Arab Emirates Al-Ahli Round China Guangzhou Evergrande
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli 3–3 (H) Matchday 1 South Korea FC Seoul 1–0 (H)
Iran Tractor Sazi 0–1 (A) Matchday 2 Australia Western Sydney Wanderers 3–2 (A)
Uzbekistan FC Nasaf 0–0 (H) Matchday 3 Japan Kashima Antlers 4–3 (H)
Uzbekistan FC Nasaf 1–0 (A) Matchday 4 Japan Kashima Antlers 1–2 (A)
Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli 1–2 (A) Matchday 5 South Korea FC Seoul 0–0 (A)
Iran Tractor Sazi 3–2 (H) Matchday 6 Australia Western Sydney Wanderers 0–2 (H)
Group D runners-up

Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli 6 12
2 United Arab Emirates Al-Ahli 6 8
3 Uzbekistan Nasaf Qarshi 6 8
4 Iran Tractor Sazi 6 4
Source: AFC
Final standings Group H winner

Pos Team Pld Pts
1 China Guangzhou Evergrande 6 10
2 South Korea FC Seoul 6 9
3 Australia Western Sydney Wanderers 6 8
4 Japan Kashima Antlers 6 6
Source: AFC
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Knockout stage Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
United Arab Emirates Al-Ain 3–3 (a) 0–0 (H) 3–3 (A) Round of 16 South Korea Seongnam FC 3–2 1–2 (A) 2–0 (H)
Iran Naft Tehran 3–1 1–0 (A) 2–1 (H) Quarter-finals Japan Kashiwa Reysol 4–2 3–1 (A) 1–1 (H)
Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal 4–3 1–1 (A) 3–2 (H) Semi-finals Japan Gamba Osaka 2–1 2–1 (H) 0–0 (A)

Rules

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The final was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the order of legs decided by draw. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.[3]

Match details

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First leg

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Summary

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Details

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Al-Ahli United Arab Emirates0–0China Guangzhou Evergrande
Report
Al-Ahli
Guangzhou Evergrande
GK 12 United Arab Emirates Ahmed Mahmoud
RB 26 United Arab Emirates Abdulaziz Haikel Red card 84'
CB 2 United Arab Emirates Salmeen Khamis
CB 21 South Korea Kwon Kyung-won Yellow card 90+3'
LB 62 United Arab Emirates Abdelaziz Sanqour downward-facing red arrow 72'
RM 8 Brazil Everton Ribeiro downward-facing red arrow 90'
CM 88 United Arab Emirates Majed Hassan
LM 4 United Arab Emirates Habib Fardan
RF 11 United Arab Emirates Ahmed Khalil (c) downward-facing red arrow 88'
CF 9 Brazil Lima
LF 7 United Arab Emirates Ismail Al Hammadi
Substitutes:
GK 55 United Arab Emirates Majed Naser
DF 5 United Arab Emirates Walid Abbas upward-facing green arrow 72'
DF 80 United Arab Emirates Humaid Abdulla upward-facing green arrow 88'
DF 77 United Arab Emirates Yousef Al Sayed
MF 6 United Arab Emirates Hassan Abdurahman
MF 71 United Arab Emirates Nawaf Mubarak
FW 14 Morocco Oussama Assaidi upward-facing green arrow 90'
Manager:
Romania Cosmin Olăroiu
GK 19 China Zeng Cheng
RB 5 China Zhang Linpeng
CB 3 China Mei Fang Yellow card 80'
CB 6 China Feng Xiaoting
LB 35 China Li Xuepeng downward-facing red arrow 70'
CM 8 Brazil Paulinho
CM 10 China Zheng Zhi (c)
RW 16 China Huang Bowen
AM 11 Brazil Ricardo Goulart downward-facing red arrow 59'
LW 27 China Zheng Long downward-facing red arrow 46'
CF 9 Brazil Elkeson Yellow card 36'
Substitutes:
GK 22 China Li Shuai
DF 17 China Liu Jian
MF 2 China Liao Lisheng
MF 12 China Wang Shangyuan
MF 20 China Yu Hanchao upward-facing green arrow 59'
MF 25 China Zou Zheng upward-facing green arrow 70'
DF 28 South Korea Kim Young-gwon
FW 29 China Gao Lin upward-facing green arrow 46'
Manager:
Brazil Luiz Felipe Scolari

AFC Man of the Match:
China Zheng Zhi (Guangzhou Evergrande)

Assistant referees:
Jeong Hae-sang (South Korea)
Yoon Kwang-yeol (South Korea)
Fourth official:
Kim Hee-gon (South Korea)

Statistics

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Second leg

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Summary

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Details

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Guangzhou Evergrande China1–0United Arab Emirates Al-Ahli
Elkeson 54' Report
Attendance: 42,499
Guangzhou Evergrande
Al-Ahli
GK 19 China Zeng Cheng downward-facing red arrow 38'
RB 5 China Zhang Linpeng
CB 6 China Feng Xiaoting
CB 28 South Korea Kim Young-gwon
LB 25 China Zou Zheng Yellow card 72'
DM 10 China Zheng Zhi (c)
DM 8 Brazil Paulinho
AM 11 Brazil Ricardo Goulart downward-facing red arrow 90+1'
RW 16 China Huang Bowen Yellow card 76'
LW 27 China Zheng Long downward-facing red arrow 87'
CF 9 Brazil Elkeson
Substitutes:
GK 22 China Li Shuai upward-facing green arrow 38'
DF 3 China Mei Fang
DF 33 China Rong Hao
DF 35 China Li Xuepeng
MF 17 China Liu Jian upward-facing green arrow 87'
MF 20 China Yu Hanchao
FW 29 China Gao Lin upward-facing green arrow 90+1'
Manager:
Brazil Luiz Felipe Scolari
GK 12 United Arab Emirates Ahmed Mahmoud
RB 62 United Arab Emirates Abdelaziz Sanqour
CB 2 United Arab Emirates Salmeen Khamis Red card 67'
CB 21 South Korea Kwon Kyung-won
LB 5 United Arab Emirates Walid Abbas
RM 8 Brazil Everton Ribeiro
CM 88 United Arab Emirates Majed Hassan Yellow card 11' downward-facing red arrow 90+3'
LM 4 United Arab Emirates Habib Fardan downward-facing red arrow 65'
RF 9 Brazil Lima
CF 11 United Arab Emirates Ahmed Khalil (c) downward-facing red arrow 63'
LF 7 United Arab Emirates Ismail Al Hammadi
Substitutes:
GK 55 United Arab Emirates Majed Naser
DF 57 United Arab Emirates Mohamed Sebil upward-facing green arrow 90+3'
DF 80 United Arab Emirates Humaid Abbas upward-facing green arrow 65'
MF 6 United Arab Emirates Hassan Abdurahman
MF 70 United Arab Emirates Waleed Hussain
MF 71 United Arab Emirates Nawaf Mubarak
FW 14 Morocco Oussama Assaidi upward-facing green arrow 63'
Manager:
Romania Cosmin Olăroiu

AFC Man of the Match:
Brazil Elkeson (Guangzhou Evergrande)

Assistant referees:
Abdukhamidullo Rasulov (Uzbekistan)
Jahongir Saidov (Uzbekistan)
Fourth official:
Valentin Kovalenko (Uzbekistan)

Statistics

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References

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  1. ^ a b "2015 AFC Champions League Final First Leg Match Summary: Al-Ahli v Guangzhou Evergrande". AFC. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  2. ^ a b "2015 AFC Champions League Final First Leg Match Summary: Guangzhou Evergrande v Al-Ahli". AFC. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  3. ^ "AFC Champions League 2015 Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2015 MATCH CENTRE". AFC. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
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