Melbourne City’s AFC Champions League Elite campaign came to a heartbreaking end in Thailand on Tuesday night, going down 4-2 on penalties to Buriram United after a tense and scoreless second leg at Buriram Stadium.
After last week’s dramatic 1-1 draw in Melbourne left the tie perfectly balanced, neither side could find a breakthrough across 120 minutes in front of more than 22,000 home supporters. With the aggregate score still level at the end of extra time, a penalty shootout was required to decide who would advance to the Quarter Finals.
Team News
Following the dramatic draw in the first leg, secured by Ben Mazzeo’s stoppage-time equaliser, Aurelio Vidmar opted to name an unchanged squad for the decisive return leg, backing the same group of starters and substitutes to get the job done in Thailand.
Starting XI: 1. Patrick BEACH (GK), 36. Harry SHILLINGTON, 22. Germán FERREYRA, 26. Samuel SOUPRAYEN, 16. Aziz BEHICH (C), 8. Ryan TEAGUE, 13. Nathaniel ATKINSON, 30. Andreas KUEN, 28. Marcus YOUNIS, 14. Daniel ARZANI, 35. Medin MEMETI.
Substitutes: 40. James NIEUWENHUIZEN (GK), 2. Harrison DELBRIDGE, 4. Liam BONETIG, 11. Elbasan RASHANI, 17. Max CAPUTO 19. Zane SCHREIBER, 20. Ben MAZZEO, 37. Peter ANTONIOU, 39. Emin DURAKOVIC, 41. Lawrence WONG, 44. Besian KUTLESHI, 47. Kavian RAHMANI.
What happened?
City created the first opening of the night inside the opening 10 minutes. Marcus Younis did well to work space on the right before the ball eventually fell to Andreas Kuen, who laid it off for Nathaniel Atkinson on the edge of the area. His strike, however, drifted wide of the target.
Buriram responded soon after with a half chance of their own in the 17th minute when Peter Zulj fired over the bar, but the contest soon descended into a physical battle during a chaotic passage midway through the first half.
A lengthy stoppage followed a heavy challenge on Harry Shillington from Robert Zulj, who then decided to follow it up with a stamp on the young defender, for which he was shown a straight red card.
In the same stoppage, Suphanat Mueanta required extended treatment and was eventually forced from the field. With defender Eduardo Mancha already substituted earlier after picking up an injury in the opening stages, the hosts suddenly found themselves reduced to 10 men after just 21 minutes and without three of their starting players.
City began to build sustained pressure as the half progressed. A clever routine from a corner in the 31st minute created space for Daniel Arzani to fire a shot toward the near post, but Buriram goalkeeper Neil Etheridge reacted quickly to get down and make the save.
Further dangerous moments followed before the break as Behich and Younis both delivered dangerous crosses into the penalty area, but City were unable to find a teammate at the back post to apply the finishing touch. Despite not being able to find a breakthrough, we ended the first half on top, enjoying 71% of possession.
Vidmar made his first change at half-time, introducing Kavian Rahmani in place of Shillington, with Atkinson shifting back into his more familiar role at right back.
The second half began at a frantic pace before settling back into a familiar pattern, with City controlling possession while Buriram looked to defend deep and hit on the counter.
City came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock in the 58th minute when Younis attempted an acrobatic bicycle kick after an Atkinson cutback looped into the air inside the box, but his effort drifted just wide of the post.
The ball did find the back of the net in the 74th minute when Atkinson smashed home at the back post after a flick-on from Rahmani following Arzani’s cross, but the assistant referee’s flag was raised for offside, bringing celebrations to an abrupt halt.
As the half wore on, City continued to dominate territory and possession while Buriram dropped deeper into defence. Max Caputo replaced Memeti in the 80th minute before Elbasan Rashani joined the action late in the half, as City pushed forward in search of a breakthrough.
Caputo nearly delivered a dramatic winner in the 89th minute when the ball fell to him on the edge of the area, but Etheridge produced an excellent low save to his right to deny the striker and force the tie into extra time.
City remained on the front foot early in the first additional period. Caputo had another half chance just seconds after the restart before Younis forced a sharp save from distance during a quick counterattack. Rashani followed up with a powerful strike of his own, but Etheridge again reacted well to keep the scores level.
The contest grew increasingly tense as the final minutes approached, before a major talking point arrived in the 119th minute. Following a VAR review, Germán Ferreyra was shown a red card for a swinging arm despite no contact appearing to be made – a decision that sparked plenty of debate in the closing moments.
With neither side able to find a late winner, the match ultimately headed to a penalty shootout. City converted two of our spot kicks, but Buriram proved perfect from the spot to claim a 4-2 shootout victory and advance to the Quarter Finals.
What’s next?
City will now turn our attention back to domestic competition, returning to A-League action next Tuesday night with an away trip to Sydney FC.
