Yang Xu (above) of China's Shandong Luneng FC heads the ball during the preliminary round match against India's Mohun Bagan at the 2016 AFC Champions League in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, on Feb. 2, 2016. China's Shandong Luneng FC won 6-0. (Photo: Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)
Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng crushed the Indian champions Mohun Bagan Athletic Club 6-0 in Jinan on Tuesday in the second round of the 2016 AFC Champions League (ACL) qualifying tournament.
Walter Montillo put Luneng 1-0 ahead with 23 minutes of the first half at the Jinan Olympic Center, before Diego Tardelli doubled the advantage in the 40th minute.
Yang Xu of Luneng scored the third at the 56th minute of the game. Mohun Bagan conducted a quick counter-attack but in vain. Yang Xu then made the lead to 4-0 with a header at 69th minute into the game. Zheng Zheng enlarged the lead to 5-0 at the 76th minute.
Luneng sealed the win with two minutes left to play when Wang Yongpo scored the sixth goal as Luneng set up a February 9 meeting with Adelaide United.
Founded in 1889, Mohun Bagan became the first Indian club to win in the AFC Champions League (ACL) qualifiers, as well as the first Indian football club to qualify for the Asian Champions League preliminary round 2.
Mohun Bagan knew they faced an uphill task against Luneng, as the cold weather alone gave them a big obstacle.
"Congratulations to Luneng. The result was quite convincing in terms of the strength of the two teams, as my team has to tackle with the cold weather and a much superior team from Chinese league," said Sanjoy Sen, coach of Mohun Bagan.
In Sanjoy's eyes, Mohun Bagan had the chance to score but his team was unable to seize it.
"It is a good beginning as we had a big win in the first match of the season," said coach Menezes of Luneng, adding the attack was more reliable on the right wing in the first half, but it became more balanced in the second half.
Menezes also stressed the importance of looking the bright side of the game, as he wanted to instill certain confidence into his players in continental matches.
"There are always a lack of concentration especially in the situation of a big lead, but the problem is normal at the beginning of a season," said the former Brazilian manager, adding that he would make quick amendments to the weaknesses.
Luneng will play the 2008 ACL runners-up Adelaide United in Australia on Feb. 9, to vie for a place in Group F of the 2016 AFC Champions League.
