In the wake of Guangzhou Evergrande's unceremonious exit from the Asian Champions League (ACL) last week, coach Felipe Scolari has come under pressure for the very first time since taking over the job in June last year.         

Guangzhou Evergrande entered this season's ACL as the defending champions after winning the second ACL title in November last year. However, the reigning champions' title defence bid fell apart after they managed to earn only two points from four games, causing an early exit from the group stage.

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Evergrande's failure to reach the knock out stage in this season's ACL has fans and the media asking Scolari uncomfortable questions. Angry fans are seeking an explanation about why one of Asia's richest and powerful clubs has failed to reach even the knock out stage of the competition.         

Scolari in response openly admitted that these past few weeks have been unduly tough for his team.

"It has been a difficult week for us," Scolari told reporters on Saturday. "We obviously had ambitions in Asia but now we have to focus on winning the Chinese Super League. The standard is getting higher and we face a challenge every week."

Although there is no immediate threat to Scolari's job, football experts believe that after the team's exit from Asian Champions League, he will be facing more pressure to win the domestic league title.   

Scolari's team is currently placed at the second position in the Chinese Super League table, behind current league topper Jiangsu Sainty. The Guangzhou-based club has been the Chinese Super League champions five times and would be bidding for their sixth title this season.        

However, by Scolari's admission, winning the league title this season would not be easy for his star-studded team as quality and standard of football in Chinese league has improved dramatically over the years.

Scolari would be betting on his latest star signing Jackson Martinez. Guangzhou Evergrande had splashed $50 million dollars to sign Jackson Martinez from Atlético Madrid, setting a new transfer record.

Although Martinez has been in a spectacular form in the domestic league, his failure to score even a single goal in Asian Championship has become a talking point among Evergrande's fans. Martinez's abysmal performance is widely considered a major factor in Evergrande's shocking exit from the Asian Championship League.

TagsGuangzhou Evergrande, Felipe Scolari, Asian Champions League, Chinese Super League