2015 AFC Champions League Final

The 2015 AFC Champions League Final was the final of the 2015 AFC Champions League, the 34th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 13th under the current AFC Champions League title.

The final was contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Emiratis team Al-Ahli and Chinese team Guangzhou Evergrande. The first leg hosted by Al-Ahli at Al-Rashid Stadium in Dubai on 7 November 2015, while the second leg hosted by Guangzhou Evergrande at the Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou on 21 November 2015. Having previously won the tournament in 2013 Guangzhou Evergrande has making its second final appearance in three years.

Guangzhou Evergrande won the final 1–0 on aggregate and earned the right to represent the AFC at the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup, entering at the quarterfinal stage.

Qualified teams

Team	Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
Al-Ahli	None
Guangzhou Evergrande	2013

Venues

The Al-Rashid Stadium hosted first leg of the final.

The Tianhe Stadium hosted second leg of the final.

The 2015 AFC Champions League Final is contested in two-legged home-and-away format, held at the home of both finalists. It is the third consecutive year that the AFC adopted such an arrangement.

Al-Ahli's home venue, Al-Rashid Stadium, is a 9,415 seated stadium located in the city of Dubai.^[3]

Two previous final has been held in United Arab Emirates. The first one was in the first leg of the 2002–03 final, Al Ain defeated BEC Tero Sasana F.C. 2–0 in Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium in the city of Al Ain, and they eventually claimed the title 2–1 on aggregate. The second one was 10 years ago, in the first leg of the 2005 final, Al Ain was defeated by Saudis' team, Al-Ittihad, and they eventually lost the title 3–5 on aggregate.

Guangzhou Evergrande's home venue, Tianhe Stadium, is a 58,500 seated stadium located in the city of Guangzhou.

In the history of the competition, two finals have been held in China and this final will be the third, and the second that Guangzhou hosted. The first final hosted by a Chinese city in 1989–90, which was won by Chinese side Liaoning FC 3–2 against Nissan Yokohama in the city of Shenyang. The next final, the 2013 and second leg of the 2013, was hosted in Guangzhou. The 2013 final was won by Guangzhou Evergrande on the away goals rule with 3–3 on aggregate.

Road to the final

For more details on this topic, see 2015 AFC Champions League.

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

Al-Ahli

Round

Guangzhou Evergrande

Opponent

Result

Group stage

Opponent

Result

Al-Ahli

3–3 (H)

Matchday 1

FC Seoul

1–0 (H)

Tractor Sazi

0–1 (A)

Matchday 2

Western Sydney Wanderers

3–2 (A)

FC Nasaf

0–0 (H)

Matchday 3

Kashima Antlers

4–3 (H)

FC Nasaf

1–0 (A)

Matchday 4

Kashima Antlers

1–2 (A)

Al-Ahli

1–2 (A)

Matchday 5

FC Seoul

0–0 (A)

Tractor Sazi

3–2 (H)

Matchday 6

Western Sydney Wanderers

0–2 (H)

Group D runners-up

Pos	Team	Pld	Pts
1	Al-Ahli	6	12
2	Al-Ahli	6	8
3	Nasaf Qarshi	6	8
4	Tractor Sazi	6	4

Source: AFC

Final standings

Group H winner

Pos	Team	Pld	Pts
1	Guangzhou Evergrande	6	10
2	FC Seoul	6	9
3	Western Sydney Wanderers	6	8
4	Kashima Antlers	6	6

Source: AFC

Opponent

Agg.

1st leg

2nd leg

Knockout stage

Opponent

Agg.

1st leg

2nd leg

Al-Ain

3–3 (a)

0–0 (H)

3–3 (A)

Round of 16

Seongnam FC

3–2

1–2 (A)

2–0 (H)

Naft Tehran

3–1

1–0 (A)

2–1 (H)

Quarter-finals

Kashiwa Reysol

4–2

3–1 (A)

1–1 (H)

Al-Hilal

4–3

1–1 (A)

3–2 (H)

Semi-finals

Gamba Osaka

2–1

2–1 (H)

0–0 (A)

Rules

The final was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the order of legs decided by draw. 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.^[4]

Match details

First leg

Details

Al-Ahli v Guangzhou Evergrande

7 November 2015
19:45 UTC+4

Al-Ahli	0–0	Guangzhou Evergrande
	Report

Al-Rashid Stadium, Dubai
Attendance: 9,480
Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)

Al-Ahli

Guangzhou Evergrande


GK	12	Ahmed Mahmoud
RB	26	Abdulaziz Haikel	84'
CB	2	Salmin Khamis
CB	21	Kwon Kyung-won	90+3'
LB	62	Abdelaziz Sanqour		72'
RM	8	Everton Ribeiro		90'
CM	88	Majed Hassan
LM	4	Habib Fardan
RF	11	Ahmed Khalil (c)		88'
CF	9	Lima
LF	7	Ismail Al Hammadi
Substitutes:
GK	55	Majed Naser
DF	5	Walid Abbas		72'
DF	80	Humaid Abdulla		88'
DF	77	Yousef Al Sayed
MF	6	Hassan Abdurahman
MF	71	Nawaf Mubarak
FW	14	Oussama Assaidi		90'
Manager:
Cosmin Olăroiu


GK	19	Zeng Cheng
RB	5	Zhang Linpeng
CB	3	Mei Fang	80'
CB	6	Feng Xiaoting
LB	35	Li Xuepeng		70'
CM	8	Paulinho
CM	10	Zheng Zhi (c)
RW	16	Huang Bowen
AM	11	Ricardo Goulart		59'
LW	27	Zheng Long		46'
CF	9	Elkeson	36'
Substitutes:
GK	22	Li Shuai
DF	17	Liu Jian
MF	2	Liao Lisheng
MF	12	Wang Shangyuan
MF	20	Yu Hanchao		59'
MF	25	Zou Zheng		70'
FW	29	Gao Lin		46'
Manager:
Luiz Felipe Scolari

AFC Man of the Match:
Zheng Zhi (Guangzhou Evergrande)

Assistant referees:
Jeong Hae-sang (South Korea)
Yoon Kwang-yeol (South Korea)
Fourth official:
Kim Hee-gon (South Korea)

Statistics

First half^[5]
	Al-Ahli	Guangzhou Evergrande
Goals scored	0	0
Total shots	2	5
Shots on target	1	1
Saves	1	1
Ball possession	41%	59%
Corner kicks	3	5
Fouls committed	7	4
Offsides	1	0
Yellow cards	0	1
Red cards	0	0

Second half^[5]
	Al-Ahli	Guangzhou Evergrande
Goals scored	0	0
Total shots	4	3
Shots on target	3	3
Saves	2	3
Ball possession	47%	53%
Corner kicks	4	1
Fouls committed	13	4
Offsides	1	0
Yellow cards	1	1
Red cards	1	0

Overall^[5]
	Al-Ahli	Guangzhou Evergrande
Goals scored	0	0
Total shots	6	8
Shots on target	4	4
Saves	3	4
Ball possession	47%	53%
Corner kicks	7	6
Fouls committed	20	8
Offsides	2	0
Yellow cards	1	2
Red cards	1	0

Second leg

Details

Guangzhou Evergrande v Al-Ahli

21 November 2015
20:00 UTC+8

Guangzhou Evergrande	1–0	Al-Ahli
Elkeson 54'	Report

Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou
Attendance: 42,499
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

Guangzhou Evergrande

Al-Ahli


GK	19	Zeng Cheng		38'
RB	5	Zhang Linpeng
CB	6	Feng Xiaoting
CB	28	Kim Young-gwon
LB	25	Zou Zheng	72'
DM	10	Zheng Zhi (c)
DM	8	Paulinho
AM	11	Ricardo Goulart		90+1'
RW	16	Huang Bowen	76'
LW	27	Zheng Long		87'
CF	9	Elkeson
Substitutes:
GK	22	Li Shuai		38'
DF	3	Mei Fang
DF	33	Rong Hao
DF	35	Li Xuepeng
MF	17	Liu Jian		87'
MF	20	Yu Hanchao
FW	29	Gao Lin		90+1'
Manager:
Luiz Felipe Scolari


GK	12	Ahmed Mahmoud
RB	62	Abdelaziz Sanqour
CB	2	Salmin Khamis	67'
CB	21	Kwon Kyung-won
LB	5	Walid Abbas
RM	8	Everton Ribeiro
CM	88	Majed Hassan	11'	90+3'
LM	4	Habib Fardan		65'
RF	9	Lima
CF	11	Ahmed Khalil (c)		63'
LF	7	Ismail Al Hammadi
Substitutes:
GK	55	Majed Naser
DF	57	Mohamed Sebil		90+3'
DF	80	Humaid Abbas		65'
MF	6	Hassan Abdurahman
MF	70	Waleed Hussain
MF	71	Nawaf Mubarak
FW	14	Oussama Assaidi		63'
Manager:
Cosmin Olăroiu

AFC Man of the Match:
Elkeson (Guangzhou Evergrande)

Assistant referees:
Abdukhamidullo Rasulov (Uzbekistan)
Jahongir Saidov (Uzbekistan)
Fourth official:
Valentin Kovalenko (Uzbekistan)

Statistics

First half^[5]
	Guangzhou Evergrande	Al-Ahli
Goals scored	0	0
Total shots	6	3
Shots on target	3	2
Saves	2	3
Ball possession	53%	47%
Corner kicks	3	0
Fouls committed	5	5
Offsides	1	1
Yellow cards	0	1
Red cards	0	0

Second half^[5]
	Guangzhou Evergrande	Al-Ahli
Goals scored	1	0
Total shots	3	1
Shots on target	1	0
Saves	0	0
Ball possession	57%	43%
Corner kicks	2	1
Fouls committed	7	11
Offsides	0	3
Yellow cards	2	0
Red cards	0	1

Overall^[5]
	Guangzhou Evergrande	Al-Ahli
Goals scored	1	0
Total shots	9	4
Shots on target	4	2
Saves	2	3
Ball possession	57%	43%
Corner kicks	5	1
Fouls committed	12	16
Offsides	1	4
Yellow cards	2	1
Red cards	0	1

References

1 2 "2015 AFC Champions League Final First Leg Match Summary: Al-Ahli v Guangzhou Evergrande". AFC. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
1 2 "2015 AFC Champions League Final First Leg Match Summary: Guangzhou Evergrande v Al-Ahli". AFC. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
↑ http://web.agleague.ae/en/club/al-ahli.html
↑ "AFC Champions League 2015 Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
1 2 3 4 5 6 "AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2015 MATCH CENTRE". AFC. Retrieved 20 November 2015.

External links

AFC Champions League, the-AFC.com

Asian Club Championship and AFC Champions League

Asian Champion Club Tournament era, 1967–1971

Seasons	1967 1969 1970 1971

Finals	1967 1969 1970 1971

Asian Club Championship era, 1985–2002

Seasons	1985 1986 1987 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02

Finals	1985 1986 1987 1989 1990 1991 1991 1993 1994 1995 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Champions League era, 2002–present

Seasons	2002–03 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Finals	2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

2015 in Asian Football (AFC)

« 2014 2016 »

Domestic leagues	Afghanistan Australia '14–'15 '15–'16 Bahrain '14–'15 '15–'16 Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Chinese Taipei '15–'16 East Timor Guam '14–'15 '15–'16 Hong Kong '14–'15 '15–'16 India '14–'15 '15 ISL '15–'16 Indonesia Iran '14–'15 '15–'16 Iraq '14–'15 '15–'16 Japan Jordan '14–'15 '15–'16 Korea DPR Korea Republic Kuwait '14–'15 '15–'16 Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon '14–'15 '15–'16 Macau Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Northern Mariana Islands '14–'15 '15–'16 Oman '14–'15 '15–'16 Pakistan '14–15 '15–16 Palestine '14–'15 '15–'16 Philippines Qatar '14–'15 '15–'16 Saudi Arabia '14–'15 '15–'16 Singapore Sri Lanka '14–'15 '15–'16 Syria '14–'15 '15–'16 Tajikistan Thailand Turkmenistan UAE '14–'15 '15–'16 Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen '14–'15 '15–'16

Domestic cups	Australia Bahrain Kings Cup FA Cup Bangladesh Fed Cup Independance Cup Brunei '14–'15 Cambodia China Hong Kong Shield '14–'15 FA Cup '14–'15 League Cup '14–'15 Season Play-off India Fed Cup'14–'15 Shield Durand Cup Indoneisa Piala Cup Iran '14–'15 Iraq '15–'16 Japan League Cup Emperor's Cup Jordan Shield FA Cup '14–'15 Korea DPR Korea Republic Kuwait Fed Cup Emir Cup '14–'15 Kyrgyzstan Lebanon Elite Cup FA Cup '14–'15 Laos Macau Malaysia FA Cup Malaysia Cup Maldives ~~FA Cup~~ President's Cup Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman League Cup '14–'15 Sultan Qaboos Cup '14–'15 Pakistan Palestine '14–'15 Philippines PFF Championship '14–'15 UFL Cup PFF Championship '15 Qatar Qatar Cup Emir Cup Sheikh Jassem Cup QNB Cup '14–'15 Saudi Arabia King Cup CP Cup '14–'15 '15–'16 Singapore Singapore Cup League Cup Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand FA Cup League Cup Turkmenistan UAE League Cup '14–'15 President's Cup '14–'15 Uzbekistan Uzbek Cup PFL Cup Vietnam Yemen

Super Cups	China Japan Malaysia Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore Thailand Uzbekistan Vietnam

Regional club competitions	2015 GCC Champions League 2015 Mekong Club Championship

AFC club competitions	AFC Champions League Qualifying play-off Group stage Knockout stage Final AFC Cup Qualifying play-off Group stage Knockout stage Final 2016 AFC Cup qualifying round

National team competitions	2015 AFC Asian Cup 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao

Guangzhou, China

Club	History Players Managers Asia

Stadiums	Tianhe Stadium (2011–present) Yuexiushan Stadium (1993–1997, 2001–2008, 2010) Provincial People's Stadium (1998–2000)

Seasons	1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Finals	2013 AFC Champions League Final 2015 AFC Champions League Final

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/24/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.