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11/02/2024 11:25:56 am

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AFC Champions League 2017: Guangzhou Evergrande Faces Suwon Samsung Bluewings; Aims for Second Straight Group Stage Win

Guangzhou Evergrande manager Luiz Felipe Scolari

(Photo : Getty Images) Guangzhou Evergrande will visit the Suwon Samsung Bluewings at the Suwon World Cup Stadium on Wednesday.

Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC is set to visit K League Classic squad Suwon Samsung Bluewings at the Suwon World Cup Stadium in South Korea on Wednesday for a Group G second round match in the 2017 AFC Champions League.

Guangzhou Evergrande began the tournament with a bang, crushing Hong Kong Premier League champions Eastern FC, 7-0, at their home field of Tianhe Stadium on Feb. 22. Chinese midfielders Wang Shangyuan and Liao Lisheng scored two goals apiece while imports Ricardo Goulart, Alan Carvalho, and Paulinho also netted a goal each to complete the seven-goal win.

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The Southern China Tigers are also coming off a 1-0 win over fellow CSL club Jiangsu Suning in the final of the 2017 Chinese FA Super Cup last Saturday. Alan netted the winning goal for World Cup-winning head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari's side in the 35th minute to help the team snatch one of the three major domestic titles in the country this season.

Evergrande team owner Xu Jiayin said earlier in the month that the club will aim for a "quadruple" this year, which means winning not only the three domestic trophies but also the Champions League as well. Scolari is expectedly amenable to Xu's desire.

In an interview after the Super Cup final, Scolari expressed irritation about certain reporters trying to compare him to past Guangzhou coaches, saying that he is at "Evergrande to coach, not to be compared with A or B," ESPN reported.

"I am helping the club to win titles, I hope that while I am here we can win titles every season. If I can be frank, today's (Super Cup) win shows that Evergrande were right to choose me," Scolari said.

Meanwhile, the Bluewings settled for a 1-1 draw with J1 League squad Kawasaki Frontale at the Todoroki Athletics Stadium in Japan also on Feb. 22 to open the group stage.

Kawasaki's Yu Kobayashi opened the scoring in the 10th minute before an own goal by Shogo Taniguchi equalized the match for Suwon. 

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