Fabio braces for Tianjin return

Fabio Cannavaro is torn by the prospect of facing his former club Tianjin Quanjian in the knockout round of the Asian Champions League after the Italian coach successfully steered his Guangzhou Evergrande side into the last 16 on Tuesday.

A 3-1 win over Cerezo Osaka, courtesy of a second-half brace from Alan Carvalho, saw the two-time champion finish atop Group G and set up a meeting with the runner-up in Group E.

Two points separate leader Jeonbuk Motors of South Korea and second-place Tianjin in that group, with their respective matches against Kitchee from Hong Kong and Japan's Kashiwa Reysol on Wednesday to decide Evergrande's next opponent.

"I'll be very happy to go back to Tianjin, but I'm not too happy to be their rival," said the Italian, who led Quanjian to third place in last year's Chinese Super League to qualify for the continental championship.

"I know Tianjin Quanjian very well, I'm very familiar with them and some of their tactics and techniques. But it will not be an easy game."

Guangzhou, which only needed a draw to secure its place in the next phase, took the lead through Huang Bowen after just six minutes. But Cerezo struck back four minutes later through Takaki Fukumitsu.

Carvalho put the Chinese champion back in front when he slipped the ball home from a tight angle on the turn before putting the result beyond doubt with four minutes remaining.

Evergrande is joined in the next round by Thailand's Buriram United, which capitalized on Cerezo's loss to jump into second place with a 1-0 win over Jeju United from South Korea.

Korrakot Wiriyaudomsiri scored the only goal of the match from close range as the Thais advanced to the knockout stage for the first time since 2013. They will likely face two-time champion Jeonbuk.

Suwon Bluewings, mean-while, pinched first place in Group H from under the noses of Japan's Kashima Antlers as Dejan Damjanovic scored the only goal for the Koreans against the J-League side.

Sydney FC's 0-0 draw with already-eliminated Shanghai Shenhua in the group's other game meant the Australian squad also exited the competition.

Meanwhile, Morteza Pouraliganji scored the only goal as Iran's Persepolis handed Al Sadd from Qatar a 1-0 defeat that ensured Branko Ivankovic's team finished in first place in Group C.

Persepolis is joined in the last 16 by cross-Tehran rival Esteghlal, which topped Group D ahead of Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates with a 1-0 win over last year's beaten finalist, Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia.

Al Ain secured second spot with a 4-1 thrashing of Qatar's Al Rayyan.

Reuters