Brazil internationals Hulk and Oscar helped Shanghai SIPG overcome Guangzhou Evergrande in a dramatic Asian Champions League quarterfinal that finished in a penalty shootout on Tuesday.
Shanghai was leading 4-0 from the first leg, but lost the second leg 5-1 to Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Guangzhou before winning the shootout 5-4 at Guangzhou’s Tianhe Stadium.
Shanghai, which finished extra time with nine men, will next play a Japanese opponent in the semifinals, either Urawa Reds or Kawasaki Frontale. Kawasaki leads 3-1 after the first leg and the teams play their second match Wednesday.
Guangzhou, the 2013 and 2015 continental champion, pulled two goals back in the first half thanks to Brazilian midfielder Alan Junior. Ricardo Goulart then added two more in the final seven minutes of normal time to make it even on aggregate.
Seven minutes into extra time, Shanghai substitute Wang Jiajie was shown a second yellow card. However, the setback did not prevent his team from taking the lead over two legs in the 110th, when Hulk fired home a free-kick.
With three minutes remaining, Shanghai’s Wang Shenchao was sent off for a challenge in the area and Goulart completed his hat trick by scoring the resulting penalty, setting up the shootout.
At Riyadh, Carlos Eduardo scored all three goals as Saudi Arabian champions Al Hilal beat UAE’s Al Ain 3-0 in the second leg of their quarterfinal. The sides went into the second leg at King Fahd International Stadium level after a goalless draw in Al Ain three weeks ago.
Eduardo and Nicolas Milesi combined twice in the final five minutes of the first half with the Brazilian scoring a 42nd-minute header from Milesi’s free-kick, then adding his second in added time with a volleyed effort after a pass by the Uruguayan.
Eduardo completed his hat trick in the 74th minute, finding space behind Al Ain’s defense to convert Salem Al Dawsari’s pass.
Al Hilal will play Iran’s Persepolis in the semifinals. At Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Persepolis beat Al Ahli 3-1 (5-3 on aggregate). Two late penalties from substitute Godwin Mensha and Mahdi Taremi gave Persepolis the victory.
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