The week in Asian football > 자유게시판

By Michael Church

May 5 (Reuters) - Talking points from the week in Asian football:

MELBOURNE CITY TAKE A-LEAGUE'S ACL SPOT AS SYDNEY SLUMP

Melbourne City handed Sydney FC a 5-1 thrashing to seal second place in the A-League standings and qualify for next year's Asian Champions League Elite.

The result also left Ufuk Talay's Sydney seventh, knocking them out of the A-League playoffs.

Table-toppers Auckland FC and Melbourne City will be joined in the playoffs by third-place finishers Western United, who defeated Auckland 4-2 on Saturday.

Western Sydney Wanderers (4th), Melbourne Victory (5th) and Adelaide United (6th) are also in the playoffs.

TAGAWA ON TARGET TO KEEP KASHIMA TOP OF J-LEAGUE STANDINGS

Kashima Antlers hold a three-point lead over Urawa Red Diamonds at the top of the J-League after the eight-times champions picked up a 1-0 win over Machida Zelvia on Saturday.

Kyosuke Tagawa scored the only goal of the game six minutes before halftime to ensure Toru Oniki's side retained their position at the summit.

Urawa's 2-0 win over Tokyo Verdy saw Maciel Skorza's squad climb above Kyoto Sanga, who lost 3-2 to Cerezo Osaka to drop down to fourth.

DAEJEON DOWN ANYANG TO RETAIN K-LEAGUE POLE POSITION

Daejeon Citizen retained their hold on first place in the K-League on Saturday as goals from Kim Hyeon-oh and Victor Bobsin steered the club to a 2-1 win over Anyang FC.

Seo Dong-won's side hold a five-point lead over second-placed Jeonbuk Motors, who defeated FC Seoul 1-0 and have played one game fewer than Daejeon.

Gimcheon Sangmu's 2-1 win over Pohang Steelers on Friday keeps the army club in third position, level on points with defending champions Ulsan HD.

ROMULO GOAL TAKES CHENGDU TOP OF CHINESE SUPER LEAGUE

Chengdu Rongcheng moved to the top of the Chinese Super League as a 1-0 win over Shanghai Shenhua on Friday took Wordpress Seo Jung-won's side into pole position.

Brazilian striker Romulo scored the game's only goal in the 27th minute to take Chengdu above Shenhua after 10 games of the season.

Beijing Guoan sit in third following a 2-1 win over defending champions Shanghai Port, who dropped to fourth after Lin Liangming hit the winner 10 minutes into the second half at Pudong Stadium. (Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Christian Schmollinger)