Asian Champions League, Melbourne Victory vs Ulsan Hyundai: 1am. AEDT, LIVE –
Melbourne Victory celebrated a 2-1 win against FC Seoul in their final group match on Thursday, ensuring that an Australian team would compete in the knockout stage for the first time since 2016.
But the Australians have an even tougher task early Monday morning when they face another South Korean side – Ulsan Hyundai, whose roster includes ex-Socceroos full-back Jason Davidson.
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Victory progress in ACL
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The win went through the group stage with two wins and one draw from the six games in second place, while Hyundai dominated Group F with five wins and one draw, including two wins over Perth Glory.
But in both games the A-League side did well and came close to an angry win, with the late goals breaking Perth’s hearts on both occasions.
Winning coach Grant Brebner watched both games and asked Glory coach Richard Garcia for advice to avenge Perth’s exit from the competition.
Hyundai are two-time K-League winners as well as the 2012 Asian Champions League winner. They also have history competing with Melbourne Victory after beating Melbourne 6-2 at home before entering Australia in the group stage of the 2018 edition 3: 3 draw.
Victory over the odds
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The tournament was tough to say the least – this match will be Victory’s fifth in 15 days. That will force a lot of squad changes, with Brebner recently saying that Captain Leigh Broxham is one of many likely to be out there.
“Broxham doesn’t look good and three or four others feel it. Even if I could play them all, I probably won’t, because five games in 15 days is just terrible for everyone as the players were out of shape before they arrived.
“It would really be overstepping the boundaries if you were to ask to hold out for another 90 minutes against fantastic teams.”
This season marks Victory’s eighth Champions League season, but the A-League side have only reached the knockout stage once – a loss to another South Korean team, Jeonbuk Hyundai.
Today’s win would not only be the club’s biggest continental success, but also something special given the new squad, which includes a significant proportion of young players – and which hadn’t had a full preseason in recent weeks before the tournament resumed.
HOW TO LOOK
Watch live on Fox Sports and Kayo from 12.55 p.m. AEDT (Monday morning).
MATCH CENTER: Lineups and live statistics
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