India’s Mohun Bagan Super Giants have declined to travel to Iran for their Asian Champions League Two matchup against Tractor SC, scheduled for Wednesday, citing escalating security concerns in the country and the region. The Kolkata-based club has requested the Asian Football Confederation to reschedule the match, which was set to take place in Tabriz, a city in northwestern Iran. In response, the Confederation issued a statement on Tuesday, stating, “The matter will be referred to the relevant AFC Committees with further updates to be communicated in due course.”
In higher-tier action within the Asian Champions League Elite, four-time champions Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia secured their second consecutive victory, achieving a resounding 5-0 triumph over Iraq’s Al-Shorta. Marcos Leonardo, recently acquired from Benfica to fill in for the injured Neymar, opened the scoring 11 minutes into the match. Aleksandar Mitrovic doubled the lead just four minutes later, and additional goals from Salem Al-Dawsari, Nasser Al-Dawsari, and Mohamed Kanno sealed the comprehensive win in the second half.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Al-Gharafa emerged victorious with a 4-2 win against Al-Ain from the United Arab Emirates. The restructured tournament features 24 teams divided into two groups of 12—one based in the west and the other in the east—with the top eight from each group advancing to the round of 16.
In the eastern zone, South Korea’s Gwangju FC marked their second consecutive win in their debut Asian campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory against Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale, thanks to a first-half penalty by Jasir Asani. Additionally, another South Korean team, three-time champion Pohang Steelers, bounced back from an opening-round defeat to claim a 3-0 victory over Shanghai Port. Shanghai Shenhua, the city rival of Shanghai Port, succumbed to a 3-0 loss to Johor of Malaysia, while Thailand’s Buriram United secured a 2-1 win against Australia’s Central Coast Mariners.