2015 AFC Champions League Final

The 2015 AFC Champions League Final was the final of the 2015 AFC Champions League, the 34th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 13th under the current AFC Champions League title.

2015 AFC Champions League Final
Event2015 AFC Champions League
Al-Ahli Guangzhou Evergrande
0 1
on aggregate
First leg
Al-Ahli Guangzhou Evergrande
0 0
Date7 November 2015
VenueAl-Rashid Stadium, Dubai
AFC Man of the MatchZheng Zhi (Guangzhou Evergrande)[1]
RefereeKim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)
Attendance9,480
WeatherClear and warm
25 °C (77 °F)
62% humidity[1]
Second leg
Guangzhou Evergrande Al-Ahli
1 0
Date21 November 2015
VenueTianhe Stadium, Guangzhou
AFC Man of the MatchElkeson (Guangzhou Evergrande)[2]
RefereeRavshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
Attendance42,499
WeatherHot
27 °C (81 °F)
88% humidity[2]

The final was contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Emiratis team Al-Ahli and Chinese team Guangzhou Evergrande. The first leg hosted by Al-Ahli at Al-Rashid Stadium in Dubai on 7 November 2015, while the second leg hosted by Guangzhou Evergrande at the Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou on 21 November 2015. Having previously won the tournament in 2013 Guangzhou Evergrande has making its second final appearance in three years.

Guangzhou Evergrande won the final 1–0 on aggregate and earned the right to represent the AFC at the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup, entering at the quarterfinal stage.

Qualified teams
Team Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
Al-Ahli None
Guangzhou Evergrande 2013

Venues
The Al-Rashid Stadium hosted first leg of the final.
The Tianhe Stadium hosted second leg of the final.

The 2015 AFC Champions League Final was contested in two-legged home-and-away format, held at the home of both finalists. It was the third consecutive year that the AFC adopted such an arrangement.

Al-Ahli's home venue, Al-Rashid Stadium, is a 9,415 seated stadium located in the city of Dubai.

Two previous final has been held in United Arab Emirates. The first one was in the first leg of the 2002–03 final, Al Ain defeated BEC Tero Sasana F.C. 2–0 in Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium in the city of Al Ain, and they eventually claimed the title 2–1 on aggregate. The second one was 10 years ago, in the first leg of the 2005 final, Al Ain was defeated by Saudis' team, Al-Ittihad, and they eventually lost the title 3–5 on aggregate.

Guangzhou Evergrande's home venue, Tianhe Stadium, is a 58,500 seated stadium located in the city of Guangzhou.

In the history of the competition, two finals have been held in China and this final will be the third, and the second that Guangzhou hosted. The first final hosted by a Chinese city in 1989–90, which was won by Chinese side Liaoning FC 3–2 against Nissan Yokohama in the city of Shenyang. The next final, the 2013 and second leg of the 2013, was hosted in Guangzhou. The 2013 final was won by Guangzhou Evergrande on the away goals rule with 3–3 on aggregate.

Road to the final
Further information: 2015 AFC Champions League

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

Al-Ahli Round Guangzhou Evergrande
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
Al-Ahli 3–3 (H) Matchday 1 FC Seoul 1–0 (H)
Tractor Sazi 0–1 (A) Matchday 2 Western Sydney Wanderers 3–2 (A)
FC Nasaf 0–0 (H) Matchday 3 Kashima Antlers 4–3 (H)
FC Nasaf 1–0 (A) Matchday 4 Kashima Antlers 1–2 (A)
Al-Ahli 1–2 (A) Matchday 5 FC Seoul 0–0 (A)
Tractor Sazi 3–2 (H) Matchday 6 Western Sydney Wanderers 0–2 (H)
Group D runners-up
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Al-Ahli 6 12
2 Al-Ahli 6 8
3 Nasaf Qarshi 6 8
4 Tractor Sazi 6 4
Source: AFC
 Final standings Group H winner
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Guangzhou Evergrande 6 10
2 FC Seoul 6 9
3 Western Sydney Wanderers 6 8
4 Kashima Antlers 6 6
Source: AFC
Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg Knockout stage Opponent Agg. 1st leg 2nd leg
Al-Ain 3–3 (a) 0–0 (H) 3–3 (A) Round of 16 Seongnam FC 3–2 1–2 (A) 2–0 (H)
Naft Tehran 3–1 1–0 (A) 2–1 (H) Quarter-finals Kashiwa Reysol 4–2 3–1 (A) 1–1 (H)
Al-Hilal 4–3 1–1 (A) 3–2 (H) Semi-finals Gamba Osaka 2–1 2–1 (H) 0–0 (A)

Rules

The final was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the order of legs decided by draw. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.[3]

Match details

First leg

Summary

Details
Al-Ahli 0–0 Guangzhou Evergrande
Report
Al-Rashid Stadium, Dubai
Attendance: 9,480
Al-Ahli
Guangzhou Evergrande
GK12 Ahmed Mahmoud
RB26 Abdulaziz Haikel 84'
CB2 Salmeen Khamis
CB21 Kwon Kyung-won 90+3'
LB62 Abdelaziz Sanqour 72'
RM8 Everton Ribeiro 90'
CM88 Majed Hassan
LM4 Habib Fardan
RF11 Ahmed Khalil (c) 88'
CF9 Lima
LF7 Ismail Al Hammadi
Substitutes:
GK55 Majed Naser
DF5 Walid Abbas 72'
DF80 Humaid Abdulla 88'
DF77 Yousef Al Sayed
MF6 Hassan Abdurahman
MF71 Nawaf Mubarak
FW14 Oussama Assaidi 90'
Manager:
Cosmin Olăroiu
GK19 Zeng Cheng
RB5 Zhang Linpeng
CB3 Mei Fang 80'
CB6 Feng Xiaoting
LB35 Li Xuepeng 70'
CM8 Paulinho
CM10 Zheng Zhi (c)
RW16 Huang Bowen
AM11 Ricardo Goulart 59'
LW27 Zheng Long 46'
CF9 Elkeson 36'
Substitutes:
GK22 Li Shuai
DF17 Liu Jian
MF2 Liao Lisheng
MF12 Wang Shangyuan
MF20 Yu Hanchao 59'
MF25 Zou Zheng 70'
FW29 Gao Lin 46'
Manager:
Luiz Felipe Scolari

AFC Man of the Match:
Zheng Zhi (Guangzhou Evergrande)

Assistant referees:
Jeong Hae-sang (South Korea)
Yoon Kwang-yeol (South Korea)
Fourth official:
Kim Hee-gon (South Korea)

Statistics

Second leg

Summary

Details
Guangzhou Evergrande 1–0 Al-Ahli
Elkeson  54' Report
Attendance: 42,499
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
Guangzhou Evergrande
Al-Ahli
GK19 Zeng Cheng 38'
RB5 Zhang Linpeng
CB6 Feng Xiaoting
CB28 Kim Young-gwon
LB25 Zou Zheng 72'
DM10 Zheng Zhi (c)
DM8 Paulinho
AM11 Ricardo Goulart 90+1'
RW16 Huang Bowen 76'
LW27 Zheng Long 87'
CF9 Elkeson
Substitutes:
GK22 Li Shuai 38'
DF3 Mei Fang
DF33 Rong Hao
DF35 Li Xuepeng
MF17 Liu Jian 87'
MF20 Yu Hanchao
FW29 Gao Lin 90+1'
Manager:
Luiz Felipe Scolari
GK12 Ahmed Mahmoud
RB62 Abdelaziz Sanqour
CB2 Salmeen Khamis 67'
CB21 Kwon Kyung-won
LB5 Walid Abbas
RM8 Everton Ribeiro
CM88 Majed Hassan 11' 90+3'
LM4 Habib Fardan 65'
RF9 Lima
CF11 Ahmed Khalil (c) 63'
LF7 Ismail Al Hammadi
Substitutes:
GK55 Majed Naser
DF57 Mohamed Sebil 90+3'
DF80 Humaid Abbas 65'
MF6 Hassan Abdurahman
MF70 Waleed Hussain
MF71 Nawaf Mubarak
FW14 Oussama Assaidi 63'
Manager:
Cosmin Olăroiu

AFC Man of the Match:
Elkeson (Guangzhou Evergrande)

Assistant referees:
Abdukhamidullo Rasulov (Uzbekistan)
Jahongir Saidov (Uzbekistan)
Fourth official:
Valentin Kovalenko (Uzbekistan)

Statistics

References
  1. "2015 AFC Champions League Final First Leg Match Summary: Al-Ahli v Guangzhou Evergrande". AFC. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  2. "2015 AFC Champions League Final First Leg Match Summary: Guangzhou Evergrande v Al-Ahli". AFC. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  3. "AFC Champions League 2015 Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC.
  4. "AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2015 MATCH CENTRE". AFC. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
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