There were mixed fortunes for the J.League clubs in continental competition this week, as Yokohama F･Marinos and Kawasaki Frontale progressed to the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League Elite, but Vissel Kobe were eliminated at the Round of 16 of the same competition and Sanfrecce Hiroshima suffered heartbreak in the AFC Champions League Two.

After beating Shanghai Port 1-0 away from home in the first leg of their ACL Elite Round of 16 tie, things got even better for Yokohama F･M in just the second minute of the return fixture when Daiya Tono controlled a pass from Asahi Uenaka and slotted coolly into the far corner to open the scoring.

Anderson Lopes doubled Yokohama F･M’s advantage on the night after 29 minutes, guiding his effort home from inside the area after a superb surge forward and pass into his path from Jean Claude, and although former Gainare Tottori, Albirex Niigata, and Urawa Reds striker Leonardo pulled one back for Shanghai in the 35th minute Yan Matheus re-established Yokohama F･M’s two-goal cushion with a calm left-footed finish nine minutes later.

Anderson Lopes then wrapped up the scoring in the 56th minute, making it 5-1 on aggregate.

Kawasaki-F needed a big performance in front of their own fans after losing their first leg 1-0 away to Shanghai Shenhua, and Asahi Sasaki got them up and running in the 24th minute when he lashed home a fizzing strike from the edge of the area.

Sasaki then turned provider with a chipped pass in behind for Erison in the 64th minute, with the Brazilian sending a controlled volley home to double Kawasaki-F’s lead and put them ahead in the tie.

Tatsuya Ito added another four minutes later, tucking home a Marcinho cut-back at the near post, before Marcinho himself wrapped up the win in injury time, twisting and turning in the box before poking home to make it 4-0 on the night and 4-1 on aggregate.

Kobe, however, were unable to make the most of the advantage they had gained after beating Gwangju FC 2-0 at home last week, with goals from Park Jeong In and Jasir Asani taking the tie to extra time before Asani found the net again late on to complete a remarkable comeback and send Gwangju through as 3-2 victors.

Due to disciplinary action from the AFC, the first leg of Hiroshima’s ACL Two quarter-final tie was forfeited and declared a 3-0 win for Lion City Sailors, meaning Hiroshima had it all to do in the second leg in Singapore.

Things got even worse for Michael Skibbe’s side in the 20th minute when Lennart Thy put Lion City 1-0 up though, and despite Yotaro Nakajima pulling one back for Hiroshima to make it 1-1 on the night, it wasn’t enough and they exited the competition.