Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande settled for a 1-1 draw with J1 League club Kawasaki Frontale at the Tianhe Stadium on Tuesday in the third round of the 2017 AFC Champions League group stage.

Brazilian winger Alan Carvalho opened the scoring for Guangzhou in the 26th minute with a close-range shot to the bottom corner of Kawasaki's South Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong's net. Alan's compatriot, Ricardo Goulart, provided the assist from the left side of the box, Xinhuanet reported.

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The Southern China Tigers had two opportunities to increase their lead but local midfielder Yu Hanchao came up short twice as Jung blocked his attempt in the 28th while his shot at the half-hour-mark struck the cross bar.

Kawasaki played much better in the second half as they dominated ball possession. The Japanese club then had an amazing break in stoppage time as Yu was called for a handball with team captain Yu Kobayashi netting the ensuing spot kick for the equalizer.

"Our target was to get three points, it was a pity we couldn't get the result we wanted, but the players did their best," said Kawasaki manager Toru Oniki during a post-match interview.

It was the second straight draw for Evergrande, the 2013 and 2015 winners, who are still undefeated in the tournament after starting with a 7-0 win over Eastern in the opener while being held to a 2-2 draw by the Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the second round. Guangzhou has remained undefeated in the group stage and is still on top of Group G, tied on points with the Bluewings, ESPN noted.

Guangzhou head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari felt disappointed after the match as the team failed to capitalize on their scoring chances during the match. "Normally we could score two or three goals to win the match in such an occasion like tonight, but unfortunately we couldn't score even one more goal to clinch the victory," Scolari said.

TagsAFC Champions League, AFC Champions League 2017, 2017 AFC Champions League, Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC, Kawasaki Frontale