Diamonds cut Sydney to ribbons in AFC Champions League

SYDNEY: Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds smashed four second-half goals past Western Sydney Wanderers to start their AFC Champions League with a thumping 4-0 win on Tuesday.
Shinzo Koroki and Tadanari Lee struck within two minutes of each other before Tomoaki Makino and Rafael Silva also got on the scoresheet as the Group F visitors ran riot in Sydney.
The result gives Urawa an early boost in their campaign for a second Champions League crown, but dents the Wanderers’ chances of emulating their fairytale title run of 2014, when the club was just two years old.
Urawa shaded a shapeless first half, with Yuki Muto forcing a sharp early save from Vedran Janjetovic who also did well to smother a chance, which fell to Koroki.
It was Lee who prised open the home defense on 56 minutes, when his perfectly placed through-ball released Koroki who finished smartly with the outside of his right boot.
Two minutes later and Urawa took a stranglehold on the game, when the Wanderers’ defenders failed to clear and stood watching each other as Lee swept home the second goal.
Urawa capitalized on yet more slack defending when Makino, unmarked on the back post, prodded home a loose ball from a corner on 68 minutes to make it 3-0.
And four minutes from time, Brazilian forward Silva was afforded plenty of space when he raced clear and beat Janjetovic on his near post from the edge of the box.
Moroccan international Youssef Al-Arabi registered a brace as Qatar giants Lekhwiya downed UAE’s Al-Jazira 3-0 on the opening day of the Asian Champions League late on Monday.
In another Group B match played in Muscat, Iran’s Estehglal Kouzestan defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al-Fateh 1-0, with Abolfazl Alaei’s 80th minute header clinching the winner.
In Group A, last year’s runners-up Al-Ahli of the UAE edged out Iran’s Estheglal 2-1 with Makhete Diop scoring a double for the winning team.
Omid Ebrahimi had equalized for Estheglal with an excellent volley 16 minutes from time after Al-Ahli had taken the lead just at the stroke of half time.
But Senegalese striker Diop was on target in the dying moments with a header for Cosmin Olaroiu’s side.
Also in Group A, Al-Tawoon of Saudi Arabia defeated Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv 1-0, with Talal Al-Absi netting the winner.