Yokohama F･Marinos’ AFC Champions League Elite adventure ended at the quarter-final stage on Saturday, as they fell to a 4-1 defeat to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr Club in Jeddah.
A Jhon Duran brace plus goals from Sadio Mane and Ronaldo put Al-Nassr 4-0 up, and although substitute Kota Watanabe pulled one back for Yokohama F･M early in the second half it wasn’t enough to affect the outcome of the game.
Yokohama F･M managed to prevent Al-Nassr carving out any clear-cut chances in the early stages at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, but a miscued clearance from Thomas Deng gifted the Saudi Arabian side the opener in the 27th minute.
After Mane whipped a cross into the box from the left Deng sliced the ball against his own post, and Duran was left with the straightforward task of tapping the rebound into an open net.
Al-Nassr capitalised upon the momentum from that goal to double their lead just four minutes later, as Mane rifled home a sharp left-footed drive at the near post.
The floodgates had now opened, and in the 38th minute Ronaldo made it 3-0. Yokohama F･M goalkeeper Ilgyu Park did well to save a deflected Marcelo Brozovic attempt from the edge of the area, but Ronaldo was fastest to the loose ball and the Portuguese superstar calmly tucked home from close range.
Yokohama F･M interim manager Patrick Kisnorbo tried to shake things up by bringing on Kenta Inoue, Anderson Lopes, and Watanabe at the break, but things went from bad to worse for his side just four minutes after the restart as Duran rounded off a sharp counter attack with Al-Nassr’s fourth.
The three half-time substitutes did make a positive impact in the 53rd minute, however, as they all played a part in Yokohama F･M’s goal.
Inoue passed inside to Daiya Tono, who in turn fed Anderson Lopes in the Al-Nassr penalty area. The Brazilian then laid the ball instantly into Watanabe’s path, and he made no mistake with a clipped finish into the far bottom corner.
Anderson Lopes had a glorious opportunity to add a second for Yokohama F･M three minutes later, but he miscued from an Inoue cross from the right and spooned his effort over the bar.
Any hopes of a miraculous comeback for Yokohama F･M were then fully extinguished when Watanabe was sent off in the 73rd minute, receiving his second yellow card for a foul on Aiman Yahya.
