Is it an Asian football competition? Or is it a massacre in East Asia by West Asia?

Al Nassr defeated Yokohama 4-1 in the elite quarterfinals of the 2024-2025 season AFC Champions League, held on the 27th (Korean time) at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

That day, Al Nassr mobilized big league players including Ronaldo, Sadio Mané, John Duran, and Marcelo Brozović.

Yokohama faced off from the beginning with aggressive pressing. They managed to break Al Nassr's rhythm with rough fouls, but it was difficult to hold off Al Nassr, which boasted world-class individual skills, for long.

In the 27th minute of the first half, Al Nassr recorded the first goal. After Ronaldo broke through the defense with a skill move on the right side of the box, he set up the cross, which Mané connected, and Duran finished it off as the defender cleared the ball, sending it into the goal.

Gaining momentum, Al Nassr struck again four minutes later. In a counterattack, Octávio received a pass from Ronaldo and sent the ball to the left, where Mané finished neatly. The score quickly became 2-0.

Yokohama players crumbled. In the 38th minute of the first half, Brozović's shot was deflected off a defender, and the goalkeeper failed to handle the ball properly, allowing Ronaldo to calmly push it in, sealing the game. With this goal, Ronaldo recorded his 934th career goal.

The first half ended with Al Nassr leading 3-0. At the start of the second half, Yokohama made changes to their attacking line. However, it was not enough to change the flow of the game. In the 4th minute of the second half, Al Nassr added another goal. Octávio's shot was saved by goalkeeper Park Il-kyu, but Duran kicked in the rebound to complete his multi-goal.

Yokohama did not give up easily. In the 8th minute of the second half, after a quick passing sequence, substitute Watanabe Kota received Anderson Lopes' back pass and scored with a diagonal shot. This was the only moment that a team from East Asia shook the net against a West Asian team that day.

That was the end of Yokohama's counterattack. In the 28th minute of the second half, the protagonist of the consolation goal, Kota, was sent off due to accumulated yellow cards, effectively losing their momentum to pursue. After that, Al Nassr managed the game by substituting key players including Ronaldo to preserve their stamina.

In the end, Al Nassr won decisively 4-1 and advanced to the semifinals. On the other hand, despite Yokohama's strong performance in the group stage, they failed to overcome the wall of West Asia and were eliminated.

Earlier, Gwangju FC lost 0-7 to Al Hilal, and Buriram United was defeated 0-3 by Al Ahli, leaving Kawasaki Frontale as the only hope among East Asian teams, set to face Al Sadd (Qatar).

Judging by the dividends, Kawasaki is also in an underdog situation. This is because Saudi Arabia has numerous overwhelming teams due to restrictions on foreign player recruitment and substantial funds.

This is not the end. Although the tournament usually proceeds in a home-and-away format, the AFC Champions League is uniquely held as a single match, and it will take place in Saudi Arabia, which is advantageous for West Asian teams.

Japanese outlet 'Soccer Digest' noted, "After Gwangju and Buriram, Yokohama has also fallen. What is scary is that three out of the best four teams are Saudi clubs. This is not the AFC Champions League, but the Saudi King's Cup," and criticized, "The real problem is that the tournament itself has lost fairness and justice, specially designed for Saudi Arabia."

This media outlet expressed frustration, saying, "In a way, this structure might be what the AFC has been hoping for. From the beginning, they likely expected the defeat of East Asian teams while anticipating the rise of Middle Eastern clubs beyond fairness and justice."

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