Thrilling matches, wonderful goals and teams bouncing back were all part of the menu so join the-AFC.com as we hear what the coaches and players had to say.
“It is good that the player scores, but what is important to me now is to enjoy playing and winning, and as I said, numbers do not matter to me, but today’s goal has a different taste and I wish my father was alive because today is his birthday.”
An emotional Cristiano Ronaldo paid tribute to his late father after scoring in Al Nassr’s 2-1 win over Qatar’s Al Rayyan.
“I’m so unbelievably proud of the players after such a tough match. How they were suffering today but acted as a unit to get a great result. Overall, a top match.”
Head coach Matthias Jaissle was unrestrained in his praise of his players after Al Ahli Saudi FC put aside their indifferent domestic form to beat UAE’s Al Wasl.
“We have earned four points from two matches, which is a good rate for us, and we will strive in the upcoming rounds to do better.”
Al Sadd head coach Felix Sanchez believes his side are on the right track as they seek to qualify for the knockout stage for the first time in four seasons.
“It was a high performance game from the first minute until the end, tactically there was discipline and beautiful goals.”
Head coach Jorge Jesus applauded his players after Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal SFC produced a five-star performance against Iraq’s Al Shorta.
“It was tough in the beginning as we had to figure out how Central Coast would play. Once we understood their approach, we were able to control possession.”
Buriram United head coach Osmar Vieira was delighted after the Thai side walked away with a crucial win against Australia’s Central Coast Mariners.
“We cannot be fully satisfied with this win, though. We need to stay focused on our upcoming matches.”
Lee Jung-hyo wants his Gwangju FC players to keep their foot on the pedal after opening their campaign with two wins.
“I’m still young so it’s on me to keep working hard. It’s not easy to be in this competition where you face Asia’s best teams.”
Arif Aiman is determined to keep powering Johor Darul Ta’zim after netting his third goal of the competition in the Malaysian side’s 3-0 defeat of Shanghai Shenhua FC.
“Winning this game against losing it means a big difference for us. If we had lost, it would have been very bad for us.”
Takayuki Yoshida admitted his Vissel Kobe side had to win against China PR’s Shandong Taishan after having kicked off their challenge with a draw against Buriram United.
“Obviously, the first game of the AFC Champions League Elite didn’t go our way at all and we were embarrassed about the result and performance and we turned that around tonight.”
John Hutchinson praised his players after Yokohama F. Marinos bounced back from their opening day defeat to Gwangju to beat Ulsan HD.
