2023–24 AFC Champions League knockout stage

Asia premier club football tournament

The 2023–24 AFC Champions League knockout stage began on 13 February with the round of 16 and ended on 25 May 2024 with the final to decide the champions of the 2023–24 AFC Champions League.[1] A total of 16 teams competed in the knockout stage.

Qualified teams

The group winners and three best runners-up in the group stage from each region advanced to the round of 16, with both West Region (Groups A–E) and East Region (Groups F–J) having eight qualified teams.

Region Group Winners Runners-up
(best three from each region)
West Region A United Arab Emirates Al Ain Saudi Arabia Al-Fayha
B Uzbekistan Nasaf —
C Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad Iran Sepahan
D Saudi Arabia Al Hilal Uzbekistan Navbahor
E Saudi Arabia Al Nassr —
East Region F Thailand Bangkok United South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
G Japan Yokohama F. Marinos China Shandong Taishan
H Japan Ventforet Kofu —
I Japan Kawasaki Frontale South Korea Ulsan Hyundai
J South Korea Pohang Steelers —

Format

In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament, with the teams split into the two regions until the final. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. Extra time and a penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (note that the away goals rule had been abolished) (Regulations Article 10.1).[2] The order of matches (home vs away) was determined at the draw, except for the final. The final was pre-determined on a rotation basis, with the first leg hosted by the team from the East Region. The match-ups were determined at a single draw event, made on 28 December 2023.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.[1]

Stage Round Draw date First leg Second leg
Knockout stage Round of 16 28 December 2023 13–15 February 2024 20–22 February 2024
Quarter-finals 4–6 March 2024 11–13 March 2024
Semi-finals 17 April 2024 23–24 April 2024
Final 11 May 2024 25 May 2024

Bracket

The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage, which was held on 28 December 2023, 16:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                
South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2 1 3
South Korea Pohang Steelers 0 1 1
South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1 0 1
South Korea Ulsan Hyundai 1 1 2
South Korea Ulsan Hyundai 3 2 5
Japan Ventforet Kofu 0 1 1
South Korea Ulsan Hyundai 1 2 3 (4)
Japan Yokohama F. Marinos (p) 0 3 3 (5)
China Shandong Taishan 2 4 6
Japan Kawasaki Frontale 3 2 5
China Shandong Taishan 1 0 1
Japan Yokohama F. Marinos 2 1 3
Thailand Bangkok United 2 0 2
Japan Yokohama F. Marinos (a.e.t.) 2 1 3
Japan Yokohama F. Marinos 2 1 3
United Arab Emirates Al Ain 1 5 6
Uzbekistan Nasaf 0 1 1
United Arab Emirates Al Ain 0 2 2
United Arab Emirates Al Ain (p) 1 3 4 (3)
Saudi Arabia Al Nassr 0 4 4 (1)
Saudi Arabia Al-Fayha 0 0 0
Saudi Arabia Al Nassr 1 2 3
United Arab Emirates Al Ain 4 1 5
Saudi Arabia Al Hilal 2 2 4
Iran Sepahan 1 1 2
Saudi Arabia Al Hilal 3 3 6
Saudi Arabia Al Hilal 2 2 4
Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 0 0 0
Uzbekistan Navbahor 0 1 1
Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 0 2 2

Round of 16

Summary

The first legs were played on 13–15 February, and the second legs were played on 20–22 February 2024.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Region
Nasaf Uzbekistan 1–2 United Arab Emirates Al Ain 0–0 1–2
Al-Fayha Saudi Arabia 0–3 Saudi Arabia Al Nassr 0–1 0–2
Sepahan Iran 2–6 Saudi Arabia Al Hilal 1–3 1–3
Navbahor Uzbekistan 1–2 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 0–0 1–2
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
East Region
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors South Korea 3–1 South Korea Pohang Steelers 2–0 1–1
Ulsan Hyundai South Korea 5–1 Japan Ventforet Kofu 3–0 2–1
Shandong Taishan China 6–5 Japan Kawasaki Frontale 2–3 4–2
Bangkok United Thailand 2–3 Japan Yokohama F. Marinos 2–2 0–1 (a.e.t.)

West Region

Nasaf Uzbekistan0–0United Arab Emirates Al Ain
Report
Markaziy Stadium, Qarshi
Attendance: 15,186
Al Ain United Arab Emirates2–1Uzbekistan Nasaf
 Report

Al Ain won 2–1 on aggregate.

Al-Fayha Saudi Arabia0–1Saudi Arabia Al Nassr
Report Ronaldo 81'
Attendance: 3,111
Referee: Salman Ahmad Falahi (Qatar)
Al Nassr Saudi Arabia2–0Saudi Arabia Al-Fayha
 Report
Al-Awwal Park, Riyadh
Attendance: 22,783
Referee: Ma Ning (China)

Al Nassr won 3–0 on aggregate.

Sepahan Iran1–3Saudi Arabia Al Hilal
Rezaeian 37' Report
Attendance: 61,265
Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)
Al Hilal Saudi Arabia3–1Iran Sepahan
Report
Attendance: 18,055
Referee: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)

Al Hilal won 6–2 on aggregate.

Navbahor Uzbekistan0–0Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad
Report
Markaziy Stadium, Namangan
Attendance: 26,200
Referee: Yusuke Araki (Japan)
Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabia2–1Uzbekistan Navbahor
 Report

Al-Ittihad won 2–1 on aggregate.

East Region

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors South Korea2–0South Korea Pohang Steelers
Report
Attendance: 10,966
Referee: Shaun Evans (Australia)
Pohang Steelers South Korea1–1South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
  • Park Chan-yong 12'
 Report
Attendance: 5,680
Referee: Khaled Saleh Al-Turais (Saudi Arabia)

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won 3–1 on aggregate.

Ulsan Hyundai South Korea3–0Japan Ventforet Kofu
 Report
Attendance: 7,621
Referee: Omar Mohamed Al Ali (United Arab Emirates)
Ventforet Kofu Japan1–2South Korea Ulsan Hyundai
Report
Attendance: 15,932
Referee: Moood Bonyadifard (Iran)

Ulsan Hyundai won 5–1 on aggregate.

Shandong Taishan China2–3Japan Kawasaki Frontale
  • Fernandinho 67'
  • Jadson 85'
 Report
  • Erison 28' (pen.)
  • Marcinho 33'
  • Ienaga 79'
Attendance: 46,273
Referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)
Kawasaki Frontale Japan2–4China Shandong Taishan
 Report
Attendance: 11,732
Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)

Shandong Taishan won 6–5 on aggregate.

Bangkok United Thailand2–2Japan Yokohama F. Marinos
Report
Attendance: 8,387
Referee: Mohammed Khled Al Hoish (Saudi Arabia)
Yokohama F. Marinos Japan1–0 (a.e.t.)Thailand Bangkok United
 Report
Nissan Stadium, Yokohama
Attendance: 8,343
Referee: Ilgiz Tanyashev (Uzbekistan)

Yokohama F. Marinos won 3–2 on aggregate.

Quarter-finals

Summary

The first legs were played on 4–6 March 2024, and the second legs were played on 11–13 March 2024.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Region
Al Ain United Arab Emirates 4–4 (3–1 p) Saudi Arabia Al Nassr 1–0 3–4 (a.e.t.)
Al Hilal Saudi Arabia 4–0 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 2–0 2–0
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
East Region
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors South Korea 1–2 South Korea Ulsan Hyundai 1–1 0–1
Shandong Taishan China 1–3 Japan Yokohama F. Marinos 1–2 0–1

West Region

Al Ain United Arab Emirates1–0Saudi Arabia Al Nassr
 Report
Attendance: 22,326
Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)
Al Nassr Saudi Arabia4–3 (a.e.t.)United Arab Emirates Al Ain
 Report
Penalties
1–3
Al-Awwal Park, Riyadh
Attendance: 23,878
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

4–4 on aggregate; Al Ain won 3–1 on penalties.

Al Hilal Saudi Arabia2–0Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad
 Report
Attendance: 18,387
Referee: Shaun Evans (Australia)
Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabia0–2Saudi Arabia Al Hilal
Report
Attendance: 42,375
Referee: Ma Ning (China)

Al Hilal won 4–0 on aggregate.

East Region

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors South Korea1–1South Korea Ulsan Hyundai
  • Song Min-kyu 4'
 Report
Attendance: 9,338
Referee: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)
Ulsan Hyundai South Korea1–0South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Report

Ulsan Hyundai won 2–1 on aggregate.

Shandong Taishan China1–2Japan Yokohama F. Marinos
Chen Pu 90+1' Report
Yokohama F. Marinos Japan1–0China Shandong Taishan
Report
Nissan Stadium, Yokohama
Attendance: 12,887

Yokohama F. Marinos won 3–1 on aggregate.

Semi-finals

Summary

The first legs were played on 17 April, and the second legs were played on 23 and 24 April 2024.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
West Region
Al Ain United Arab Emirates 5–4 Saudi Arabia Al Hilal 4–2 1–2
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
East Region
Ulsan Hyundai South Korea 3–3 (4–5 p) Japan Yokohama F. Marinos 1–0 2–3 (a.e.t.)

West Region

Al Ain United Arab Emirates4–2Saudi Arabia Al Hilal
  • Rahimi 6', 26' (pen.), 38' (pen.)
  • Kaku 56' (pen.)
 Report
Al Hilal Saudi Arabia2–1United Arab Emirates Al Ain
 Report
  • Erik 12'
Attendance: 18,445
Referee: Ahmed Al-Alili (United Arab Emirates)

Al Ain won 5–4 on aggregate.

East Region

Ulsan Hyundai South Korea1–0Japan Yokohama F. Marinos
Report
Yokohama F. Marinos Japan3–2 (a.e.t.)South Korea Ulsan Hyundai
 Report
Penalties
5–4
Nissan Stadium, Yokohama
Attendance: 16,098

3–3 on aggregate; Yokohama F. Marinos won 5–4 on penalties.

Final

The East Region team hosted the first leg as pre-determined on a rotation basis.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Yokohama F. Marinos Japan 3–6 United Arab Emirates Al Ain 2–1 1–5
Yokohama F. Marinos Japan2–1United Arab Emirates Al Ain
 Report
  • Abbas 12'
Nissan Stadium, Yokohama
Attendance: 53,704
Referee: Salman Falahi (Qatar)
Al Ain United Arab Emirates5–1Japan Yokohama F. Marinos
 Report
Attendance: 24,826
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

Al Ain won 6–3 on aggregate.

Notes

  1. ^ To comply with AFC requirements, Al-Fayha used Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium instead of their home ground.
  2. ^ To comply with AFC requirements, Ventforet Kofu used Japan National Stadium instead of their home ground.
  3. ^ The match was postponed from 16 April due to adverse weather conditions.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b "Asian Football Calendar (Aug 2023 – Jul 2024)". The AFC. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Competition Regulations - AFC Champions League 2023/24" (PDF). the AFC. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Al-Ain v Al-Hilal Asian Champions League semi-final postponed due to bad weather". Reuters. 16 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
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