Crews of Urawa Red Diamonds celebrate after the 2nd leg of semi-final match between Guangzhou Evergrande of China and Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan at the AFC Champions League in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, China, on Oct. 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)
Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds advanced into the final of AFC Champions League finals after 1-0 second-leg win over Guangzhou Evergrande of China.
GUANGZHOU, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Thanks to Shinzo Koroki's header in the second half, Urawa Red Diamonds overcame two-time champions Guangzhou Evergrande 1-0 in their second leg of AFC Champions League semifinal here on Wednesday, advancing to the final with a 3-0 win on aggregate.
The Japanese side will play Saudi Arab's Al Hilal in the two-leg final.
Guangzhou needed to score at least two goals in their home stadium, as they lost 2-0 to the Japanese side in the first leg. After a struggling first half, Urawa killed the game in the 48th minute as Koroki headed Daiki Hashioka's cross into far corner.
The home side dominated the first half with 10 shots and Talisca made an early threat with a left-foot shot from the center of the box, only to see Nishikawa Shusaku make a save in the bottom right corner.
Only three minutes later, the Brazilian narrowly missed the target with his header from Wei Shihao's corner cross.
Fabricio (below) of Urawa Red Diamonds competes with Feng Boxuan of Guangzhou Evergrande during the 2nd leg of semi-final match between Guangzhou Evergrande of China and Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan at the AFC Champions League in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, China, on Oct. 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)
Yuki Abe tested Guangzhou's keeper in the 23rd minute, as his right footed shot from outside of box which was denied by Zeng Cheng.
Talisca missed the best chance to score in the 38th minute as his left-footed strike in the box hit the bar.
Talisca missed the target again with a left-foot shot from right side of the six-yard box three minutes after the match recovered.
Guangzhou seemed to be closer and closer to a goal as they continued their quest. But Urawa sent the home side into hopelessness only three minutes later as Koroki headed to the far corner after Hashioka's cross.
Guangzhou needed to score at least four goals to advance. But this was mission impossible for the Chinese side who netted only one goal in their last three Champions League matches.
