NEWS

Gamba Osaka moved one step closer to winning their first-ever Asian title by beating Adelaide United 3-0 in the first leg of the AFC Champions League final on Wednesday night in Osaka.

Gamba will play the second leg in Australia on Wednesday next week.
The Asian champions will play in the FIFA Club World Cup slated for December 11-21 in Japan.
“I wish the final could be over now,” Gamba manager Akira Nishino said. “We showed our brand of football, and our players produced the kind of perfect game I’d been hoping for.”
Playing before 20,639 spectators at Osaka’s Expo ‘70 Commemorative Stadium, Gamba overwhelmed the visitors with their fluid passing and attacking game.
But the hosts needed to play patiently against the defensive Aussies. Adelaide had given up just four goals in their previous 10 matches in the tournament.
The game changed in the 37th minute when Lucas beat the Australian backline with a good move to latch on to a through ball from Takahiro Futagawa. The Brazilian forward then dribbled into the box and calmly beat advancing goalkeeper Eugen Galekovic.
The north Osaka team widened the lead two minutes before the break. Hayato Sasaki intercepted a pass and quickly fed the ball to Lucas. The Brazilian passed the ball on to Yasuhito Endo, who scored with a low left-foot shot.
After the break, Adelaide attempted to rally with efforts from midfielders Travis Dodd and Lucas Pantelis, but Gamba made it 3-0 in the 68th minute when Michihiro Yasuda scored with a volley from an Endo corner.
Gamba could have added more but Brazilian forward Roni hit a shot over the bar, while forward Masato Yamazaki, also a second half substitute, was denied by Costanzo.
Endo found the net in the 91st minute by curling in a free-kick, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
“I’m really glad we were able to play so well in the final,” Nishino said.
“We wanted to show something different from the way the champions [Urawa Reds] did it last year, and I think we’ve done that.”
The Gamba coach added, “I hope we can continue to play well in our upcoming games in the league and the Emperor’s Cup and bring this momentum into the second leg.”
Endo commented: “We scored three goals and didn’t give up any today. But we’re still only at the halfway stage. We’d like to win away with our brand of passing and entertaining football and claim the title by showing how good Japanese teams can be.”
Adelaide manager Aurelio Vidmar said, “They were an extremely good side. We just found it really difficult to match them and their quick passing. I thought we were a little bit timid in the first half.
“But we put more pressure on them in the second half, and if we had had more luck in front of goal things may have changed a little bit and become more interesting.”
Asked about the second leg, Vidmar replied: “We’ll go out and give everything we can. That’s all we can ask for. We’re down 3-0, so it’s going to be difficult. But you never know. In football, strange thing can happen.”