PETALING JAYA: It was a tale of sleepless nights for rivals in the AFC Champions League (ACL) Elite.
Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) winger Marcos Guilherme could hardly sleep after another sensational scoring night in the tournament, while opponents Sanfrecce Hiroshima also endured a restless evening, no thanks to fireworks even before kick-off.
The Brazilian Guilherme scored in JDT’s 3-1 win over Sanfrecce in the round-of-16 first-leg match at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on Wednesday, and the excitement from the victory kept him awake long after the final whistle.
It was his third goal in the Champions League.
“What a Champions League night, my friends,” Guilherme said on social media after the win.
“JDT fans, I ask you once again, after a wonderful night like this, how am I supposed to sleep?”
Guilherme’s sleeping troubles seem to be a recurring theme as he had previously said the same after scoring the decisive goal in JDT’s 1-0 win over Vissel Kobe in their final group-stage match, which secured their place in the knockout rounds.
“Answer me JDT fans, how can you sleep after this incredible night? I can’t sleep,” he previously said.
Guilherme’s first goal in the Champions League had also come against Sanfrecce last month, when he scored JDT’s only goal in a 2-1 group-stage defeat.
The Japanese side, however, had struggled to rest on the eve of the game after fireworks outside their hotel disrupted their sleep due to Chap Goh Mei celebrations.
Despite the setback, Sanfrecce head coach Bartosch Gaul was proud of his team’s effort against the Southern Tigers.
“I’m very proud of the team because we had to travel far and needed to play in high temperatures,” said Gaul.
“We had to cancel our training yesterday (Tuesday) and the team had a hard night because there were fireworks just outside the hotel. So it was a lot of challenging situations for us.
“It was difficult for us to start the game and match their intensity,” he said.
Sanfrecce were forced to play with 10 men after Kim Ju-sung was shown a red card in the 25th minute.
JDT capitalised through Ager Aketxe in the 52nd minute, followed by Bergson da Silva in the 63rd, before Guilherme sealed the win with his strike in the 85th.
Sanfrecce got lucky for their consolation goal in the 87th minute when Rui Nene scored an own goal.
Both sides will meet again in the second leg at the Edion Peace Wing Stadium in Hiroshima on Wednesday.
