Bangkok United miraculously qualified for the group F stage of the AFC Champions League, and despite losing to Jeonbuk Hyundai, they advanced as group winners, which is truly amazing. As a team from Thailand, Bangkok United unexpectedly overwhelmed South Korea's powerhouse in the away game to win the group unexpectedly. Hong Kong's Kitchee, meanwhile, unfortunately finished fourth.
Ahead of the match against Jeonbuk Hyundai, Bangkok United have secured a place in the group, so this game is not very stressful for the Thai side to make the most of the game to train their newcomers and prepare for the knockout rounds. Jeonbuk Hyundai, however, is in a different situation, and they must fight for second place in the group and accumulate enough points. Therefore, winning is the only option for Jeonbuk Hyundai.
However, in South Korea, Bangkok United once again showed their magical strength, and in the fourth minute of the game, the visitors took the lead in the South Korean team's goal to take a 1-0 lead, which made the players of Bangkok United excited. In the 42nd minute, Jeonbuk Hyundai began to counterattack, and Moon Sunmin scored a goal to equalize the score. Then, Lee Dong-jun scored two goals in a row in the 76th and 78th minutes to help the team quickly overtake and take a 3-1 lead.
In the 85th minute, Bangkok United scored another goal, scored by Long La, but eventually lost the game with a score of 2-3. After six matches in Group F, Bangkok United accumulated 13 points with a record of 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, and managed to qualify for the first place in the group, while Jeonbuk Hyundai advanced to the second place with 12 points.
Hong Kong's Kitchee had a strong run in the sixth round, beating the Lion City Mariners 2-0 to claim a victory, but were still eliminated from the group as fourth. The AFC Champions League East Asia has produced the top eight teams, but only Shandong Taishan of the Chinese Super League has successfully qualified. In the next knockout round, the opponent of the Shandong team has not yet been determined, but it is facing a situation of choosing one out of seven.
This season's AFC Champions League knockout rounds will be determined by direct draw, with even opponents who meet in the group stage likely to meet again in the quarter-finals of the East Asian region. Therefore, the possibility of the Taishan team playing against the Yokohama Mariners again is not ruled out, and if they meet Thailand's Bangkok United, it may be a good result, after all, the Shandong team is still quite sure against Southeast Asian teams!