2018 AFC Champions League

2018 AFC Champions League
Tournament details
Dates Qualifying:
16–30 January 2018
Competition proper:
12 February – 10 November 2018
Teams Competition proper: 32
Total: 46 (from 20 associations)
Final positions
Champions Kashima Antlers (1st title)
Runners-up Persepolis
Tournament statistics
Matches played 126
Goals scored 364 (2.89 per match)
Attendance 1,876,986 (14,897 per match)
Top scorer(s) Baghdad Bounedjah (13 goals)
Best player(s) Yuma Suzuki
Fair play award Persepolis

The 2018 AFC Champions League was the 37th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 16th under the current AFC Champions League title.

Kashima Antlers won the title for the first time, defeating Persepolis in the final, and qualified as the AFC representative at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

Urawa Red Diamonds were the title holders, but they were unable to defend their title as they finished seventh in the 2017 J1 League and were eliminated in the fourth round of the 2017 Emperor's Cup, thus did not qualify for the tournament. It marked the second season in a row without title holders after Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors were disqualified in 2017 as a result of their involvement in a match-fixing scandal in 2016.

Association team allocation

The AFC Competitions Committee proposed a revamp of the AFC club competitions on 25 January 2014, which was ratified by the AFC Executive Committee on 16 April 2014. The 46 AFC member associations (excluding the associate member Northern Mariana Islands) are ranked based on their national team's and clubs' performance over the last four years in AFC competitions, with the allocation of slots for the 2017 and 2018 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2016 AFC rankings (Entry Manual Article 2.2):

  • The associations were split into two regions:
  • In each region, there are four groups in the group stage, including a total of 12 direct slots, with the 4 remaining slots filled through play-offs.
  • The top 12 associations in each region as per the AFC rankings are eligible to enter the AFC Champions League, as long as they fulfill the AFC Champions League criteria.
  • The top six associations in each region get at least one direct slot in the group stage, while the remaining associations get only play-off slots (as well as AFC Cup group stage slots):
    • The associations ranked 1st and 2nd each get three direct slots and one play-off slot.
    • The associations ranked 3rd and 4th each get two direct slots and two play-off slots.
    • The associations ranked 5th each get one direct slot and two play-off slots.
    • The associations ranked 6th each get one direct slot and one play-off slot.
    • The associations ranked 7th to 12th each get one play-off slot.
  • The maximum number of slots for each association is one-third of the total number of eligible teams in the top division.
  • If any association gives up its direct slots, they are redistributed to the highest eligible association, with each association limited to a maximum of three direct slots.
  • If any association gives up its play-off slots, they are annulled and not redistributed to any other association.

For the 2018 AFC Champions League, the associations are allocated slots according to their association ranking published on 30 November 2016, which takes into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, as well as their national team's FIFA World Rankings, during the period between 2013 and 2016.

Participation for 2018 AFC Champions League
Participating
Not participating
Notes
  1. Australia (AUS): The top division run by the Football Federation Australia, the A-League, only have nine Australia-based teams in the 2016–17 season, so Australia can only get a maximum of three total slots (Entry Manual 5.4).
  2. Iraq (IRQ): Iraq did not implement the AFC Champions League club licensing system.
  3. Kuwait (KUW): Kuwait could not enter due to FIFA's suspension of the Kuwait Football Association at the entry deadline. (Even if its suspension were lifted, Kuwaiti clubs would not enter since Kuwait did not implement club licensing system.)
  4. Lebanon (LIB): Lebanon did not implement the AFC Champions League club licensing system.
  5. Saudi Arabia (KSA): Saudi Arabia had only two entries as Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad, the 2016–17 Saudi Professional League 3rd place and 4th place, which would have entered the group stage and qualifying play-offs respectively, failed to obtain an AFC licence, and no other teams below them in the league were eligible to replace them, as all other licensed teams from Saudi Arabia finished in the bottom half of the league and did not meet the sporting criteria (Entry Manual 12.6).
  6. Syria (SYR): Syria did not implement the AFC Champions League club licensing system.

Teams

The following 46 teams from 20 associations entered the competition.

In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count only those since the 2002–03 season (including qualifying rounds), when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League.

Notes
  1. Indonesia (IDN): Bhayangkara, the 2017 Liga 1 champions, failed to obtain an AFC licence. As a result, Bali United, the league runners-up, entered the qualifying play-offs.
  2. Iran (IRN): Naft Tehran, the 2016–17 Hazfi Cup winners, failed to obtain an AFC licence. As a result, Tractor, the 2016–17 Persian Gulf Pro League 3rd place, entered the groups stage instead of the qualifying play-offs, while Zob Ahan, the league 4th place, entered the qualifying play-offs.
  3. Qatar (QAT): El Jaish, the 2016–17 Qatar Stars League 4th place, were merged into Lekhwiya to form Al-Duhail after the 2016–17 season. As a result, Al-Gharafa, the league 5th place, entered the qualifying play-offs.
  4. Singapore (SIN): Albirex Niigata Singapore, the 2017 S.League champions, is a satellite team of Japanese club Albirex Niigata and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions. As a result, Tampines Rovers, the league runners-up, entered the qualifying play-offs.
  5. United Arab Emirates (UAE): Al-Ahli, the 2016–17 UAE Pro-League 3rd place, merged with Al-Shabab and Dubai to form Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai after the 2016–17 season, and were excluded from the AFC Champions League for failing to be in existence for the necessary three year requirement. As a result, Al-Ain, the league 4th place, entered the qualifying play-offs (initially they failed to obtain an AFC licence but later won their appeal).
  6. Vietnam (VIE): Quảng Nam, the 2017 V.League 1 champions, failed to obtain an AFC licence. As a result, FLC Thanh Hóa, the league runners-up, entered the qualifying play-offs.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.

Stage Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Preliminary stage Preliminary round 1 No draw 16 January 2018
Preliminary round 2 23 January 2018
Play-off stage Play-off round 30 January 2018
Group stage Matchday 1 6 December 2017 12–14 February 2018
Matchday 2 19–21 February 2018
Matchday 3 5–7 March 2018
Matchday 4 12–14 March 2018
Matchday 5 2–4 April 2018
Matchday 6 16–18 April 2018
Knockout stage Round of 16 7–9 May 2018 14–16 May 2018
Quarter-finals 23 May 2018 27–29 August 2018 17–19 September 2018
Semi-finals 2–3 October 2018 23–24 October 2018
Final 3 November 2018 10 November 2018

Qualifying play-offs

Main article: 2018 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs

In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.2). The eight winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 24 direct entrants. All losers in each round from associations with only play-off slots entered the AFC Cup group stage.

The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each region was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match. Teams from the same association could not be placed into the same play-off.

Preliminary round 1

Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Region
Bali United 3–1 Tampines Rovers
Shan United 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(3–4 p) 		Ceres–Negros

Preliminary round 2

Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Region
Eastern 2–4 FLC Thanh Hóa
Muangthong United 5–2 Johor Darul Ta'zim
Chiangrai United 2–1 (a.e.t.) Bali United
Brisbane Roar 2–3 Ceres–Negros

Play-off round

Team 1  Score  Team 2
West Region
Al-Ain 2–0 Malkiya
Zob Ahan 3–1 Aizawl
Al-Gharafa 2–1 Pakhtakor
Nasaf Qarshi 5–1 Al-Faisaly
Team 1  Score  Team 2
East Region
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 5–1 FLC Thanh Hóa
Kashiwa Reysol 3–0 Muangthong United
Shanghai SIPG 1–0 Chiangrai United
Tianjin Quanjian 2–0 Ceres–Negros

Group stage

Main article: 2018 AFC Champions League group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 6 December 2017, 16:30 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four: four groups each in the West Region (Groups A–D) and the East Region (Groups E–H). Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group. In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the round of 16 of the knockout stage.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification AHL JAZ GHA TRA
1 Al-Ahli 6 4 2 0 9 4 +5 14 Advance to knockout stage — 2–1 1–1 2–0
2 Al-Jazira 6 2 2 2 9 9 0 8 1–2 — 3–2 0–0
3 Al-Gharafa 6 2 2 2 12 9 +3 8 1–1 2–3 — 3–0
4 Tractor Sazi 6 0 2 4 2 10 −8 2 0–1 1–1 1–3 —
Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head results: Al-Jazira 3–2 Al-Gharafa, Al-Gharafa 2–3 Al-Jazira.

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification DUH ZOB LOK WAH
1 Al-Duhail 6 6 0 0 13 6 +7 18 Advance to knockout stage — 3–1 3–2 1–0
2 Zob Ahan 6 2 1 3 6 8 −2 7 0–1 — 2–0 2–0
3 Lokomotiv Tashkent 6 2 1 3 13 9 +4 7 1–2 1–1 — 5–0
4 Al-Wahda 6 1 0 5 6 15 −9 3 2–3 3–0 1–4 —
Source: AFC
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head results: Zob Ahan 2–0 Lokomotiv Tashkent, Lokomotiv Tashkent 1–1 Zob Ahan.

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PER SAD NSF WAS
1 Persepolis 6 4 1 1 8 3 +5 13 Advance to knockout stage — 1–0 3–0 2–0
2 Al-Sadd 6 4 0 2 11 5 +6 12 3–1 — 4–0 2–1
3 Nasaf Qarshi 6 3 1 2 4 8 −4 10 0–0 1–0 — 1–0
4 Al-Wasl 6 0 0 6 3 10 −7 0 0–1 1–2 1–2 —
Source: AFC

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification EST AIN RAY HIL
1 Esteghlal 6 3 3 0 9 5 +4 12 Advance to knockout stage — 1–1 2–0 1–0
2 Al-Ain 6 2 4 0 10 6 +4 10 2–2 — 1–1 2–1
3 Al-Rayyan 6 1 3 2 7 11 −4 6 2–2 1–4 — 2–1
4 Al-Hilal 6 0 2 4 3 7 −4 2 0–1 0–0 1–1 —
Source: AFC

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification JEO TJQ KSW KIT
1 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 6 5 0 1 22 9 +13 15 Advance to knockout stage — 6–3 3–2 3–0
2 Tianjin Quanjian 6 4 1 1 15 11 +4 13 4–2 — 3–2 3–0
3 Kashiwa Reysol 6 1 1 4 6 10 −4 4 0–2 1–1 — 1–0
4 Kitchee 6 1 0 5 1 14 −13 3 0–6 0–1 1–0 —
Source: AFC

Group F

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SSI ULS MEL KAW
1 Shanghai SIPG 6 3 2 1 10 6 +4 11 Advance to knockout stage — 2–2 4–1 1–1
2 Ulsan Hyundai 6 2 3 1 15 11 +4 9 0–1 — 6–2 2–1
3 Melbourne Victory 6 2 2 2 11 16 −5 8 2–1 3–3 — 1–0
4 Kawasaki Frontale 6 0 3 3 6 9 −3 3 0–1 2–2 2–2 —
Source: AFC

Group G

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification GZE BUR CER JEJ
1 Guangzhou Evergrande 6 3 3 0 12 6 +6 12 Advance to knockout stage — 1–1 3–1 5–3
2 Buriram United 6 2 3 1 7 6 +1 9 1–1 — 2–0 0–2
3 Cerezo Osaka 6 2 2 2 6 8 −2 8 0–0 2–2 — 2–1
4 Jeju United 6 1 0 5 6 11 −5 3 0–2 0–1 0–1 —
Source: AFC

Group H

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SSB KAS SYD SSH
1 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 6 3 1 2 8 7 +1 10 Advance to knockout stage — 1–2 1–4 1–1
2 Kashima Antlers 6 2 3 1 8 6 +2 9 0–1 — 1–1 1–1
3 Sydney FC 6 1 3 2 7 8 −1 6 0–2 0–2 — 0–0
4 Shanghai Shenhua 6 0 5 1 6 8 −2 5 0–2 2–2 2–2 —
Source: AFC

Knockout stage

Main article: 2018 AFC Champions League knockout stage

In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split into the two regions until the final. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 11.3).

Bracket

The bracket was decided after the draw for the quarter-finals, which was held on 23 May 2018, 16:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                               
Kashima Antlers 3 1 4
Shanghai SIPG 1 2 3
Kashima Antlers 2 3 5
Tianjin Quanjian 0 0 0
Tianjin Quanjian (a) 0 2 2
Guangzhou Evergrande 0 2 2
Kashima Antlers 3 3 6
East Region
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2 3 5
Buriram United 3 0 3
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2 2 4
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 0 3 3 (2)
Suwon Samsung Bluewings (p) 3 0 3 (4)
Ulsan Hyundai 1 0 1
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 0 3 3
Kashima Antlers 2 0 2
Persepolis 0 0 0
Zob Ahan 1 1 2
Esteghlal 0 3 3
Esteghlal 1 2 3
Al-Sadd 3 2 5
Al-Sadd 2 2 4
Al-Ahli 1 2 3
Al-Sadd 0 1 1
West Region
Persepolis 1 1 2
Al-Ain 2 1 3
Al-Duhail 4 4 8
Al-Duhail 1 1 2
Persepolis 0 3 3
Al-Jazira 3 1 4
Persepolis (a) 2 2 4

Round of 16

In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group from the same region, with the group winners hosting the second leg, and the matchups determined by the group stage draw.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Region
Al-Jazira 4–4 (a) Persepolis 3–2 1–2
Al-Sadd 4–3 Al-Ahli 2–1 2–2
Zob Ahan 2–3 Esteghlal 1–0 1–3
Al-Ain 3–8 Al-Duhail 2–4 1–4
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
East Region
Tianjin Quanjian 2–2 (a) Guangzhou Evergrande 0–0 2–2
Buriram United 3–4 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3–2 0–2
Ulsan Hyundai 1–3 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 1–0 0–3
Kashima Antlers 4–3 Shanghai SIPG 3–1 1–2

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 23 May 2018. In the quarter-finals, the four teams from the West Region played in two ties, and the four teams from the East Region played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw, without any seeding or country protection.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Region
Esteghlal 3–5 Al-Sadd 1–3 2–2
Al-Duhail 2–3 Persepolis 1–0 1–3
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
East Region
Kashima Antlers 5–0 Tianjin Quanjian 2–0 3–0
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3–3 (2–4 p) Suwon Samsung Bluewings 0–3 3–0 (a.e.t.)

Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Region played each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Region played each other, with the order of legs determined by the quarter-final draw.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Region
Al-Sadd 1–2 Persepolis 0–1 1–1
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
East Region
Kashima Antlers 6–5 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 3–2 3–3

Final

Main article: 2018 AFC Champions League Final

In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs (first leg hosted by team from the East Region, second leg hosted by team from the West Region) reversed from the previous season's final.

Kashima Antlers 2–0 Persepolis
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 35,022
Referee: Ma Ning (China)
Persepolis 0–0 Kashima Antlers
Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 100,000
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Kashima Antlers won 2–0 on aggregate.

Awards

Main awards

Award Player Team
Most Valuable Player Yuma Suzuki Kashima Antlers
Top Goalscorer Baghdad Bounedjah Al-Sadd
Fair Play Award — Persepolis
Best Goal Cheng Chin Lung Kitchee

All-Star Squad

Source:

Position Player Team
Goalkeeper Kwoun Sun-tae Kashima Antlers
Alireza Beiranvand Persepolis
Shin Hwa-yong Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Defenders Abdelkarim Hassan Al-Sadd
Rouzbeh Cheshmi Esteghlal
Gen Shoji Kashima Antlers
Jalal Hosseini Persepolis
Jung Seung-hyun Kashima Antlers
Midfielders Nam Tae-hee Al-Duhail
Léo Silva Kashima Antlers
Xavi Al-Sadd
Kamal Kamyabinia Persepolis
Kento Misao Kashima Antlers
Bashar Resan Persepolis
Park Jong-woo Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Elvis Sarić Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Forwards Yuma Suzuki Kashima Antlers
Godwin Mensha Persepolis
Serginho Kashima Antlers
Kim Shin-wook Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Ali Alipour Persepolis
Alexandre Pato Tianjin Quanjian
Dejan Damjanović Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Baghdad Bounedjah Al-Sadd

Opta Best XI

Source:

Position Player Team
Goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand Persepolis
Defenders Li Xuepeng Guangzhou Evergrande
Shoja' Khalilzadeh Persepolis
Jalal Hosseini Persepolis
Lee Yong Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Midfielders Ricardo Goulart Guangzhou Evergrande
Xavi Al-Sadd
Serginho Kashima Antlers
Forwards Dejan Damjanović Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Baghdad Bounedjah Al-Sadd
Youssef El-Arabi Al-Duhail

Fans' Best XI

Source:

Position Player Team
Goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand Persepolis
Defenders Abdelkarim Hassan Al-Sadd
Shoja' Khalilzadeh Persepolis
Ró-Ró Al-Sadd
Voria Ghafouri Esteghlal
Midfielders Farshid Esmaeili Esteghlal
Xavi Al-Sadd
Siamak Nemati Persepolis
Forwards Ali Alipour Persepolis
Baghdad Bounedjah Al-Sadd
Mame Baba Thiam Esteghlal

Top scorers

  Team eliminated / inactive for this round.
  Player was not in the team but team still active for this round.
Rank Player Team MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6 2R1 2R2 QF1 QF2 SF1 SF2   F1    F2  Total
1 Baghdad Bounedjah Al-Sadd 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 13
2 Dejan Damjanović Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 9
Youssef El-Arabi Al-Duhail 2 2 2 1 2
4 Mame Baba Thiam Esteghlal 1 2 1 3 7
Ricardo Goulart Guangzhou Evergrande 1 4 2
6 Marcus Berg Al-Ain 1 1 2 2 6
Kim Shin-wook Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3 1 1 1
Romarinho Al-Jazira 1 1 1 1 1 1
9 Adriano Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3 1 1 5
Morteza Tabrizi Zob Ahan (GS & R16)
Esteghlal (QF) 		1 2 1 1
Serginho Kashima Antlers 1 1 1 1 1
Ali Mabkhout Al-Jazira 1 1 2 1
Muhannad Assiri Al-Ahli 1 1 1 1 1
Mehdi Taremi Al-Gharafa 1 2 1 1
Ali Alipour Persepolis 2 1 1 1

Note: Goals scored in the qualifying play-offs are not counted when determining top scorer (Regulations Article 64.4).

Source: AFC

Player of the week awards

Matchday Toyota Player of the Week
Player Team
Group stage
Matchday 1 Leroy George Melbourne Victory
Matchday 2 Oscar Shanghai SIPG
Matchday 3 Ricardo Goulart Guangzhou Evergrande
Matchday 4 Ali Khasif Al-Jazira
Matchday 5 Mislav Oršić Ulsan Hyundai
Matchday 6 Alan Guangzhou Evergrande
Knockout stage
Round of 16 1st leg Edgar Buriram United
Round of 16 2nd leg Mame Baba Thiam Esteghlal
Quarter-finals 1st leg Dejan Damjanović Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Quarter-finals 2nd leg Akram Afif Al-Sadd
Semi-finals 1st leg Alireza Beiranvand Persepolis
Semi-finals 2nd leg Dejan Damjanović Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Final 1st leg Serginho Kashima Antlers
Final 2nd leg Kwoun Sun-tae Kashima Antlers

See also