Vissel Kobe may be preparing to fight off relegation in the remaining few weeks of J. League first-division action, but their dream of becoming the continent’s top club remains alive following Thursday’s 3-2 win over current J1 leaders Yokohama F. Marinos in the Asian Champions League Round of 16.
Goals by Koya Yuruki, Daiju Sasaki and Yutaro Oda were enough to get the “home” team — playing at Saitama Stadium in the tournament’s centralized East Zone — over the line in front of 11,528 fans who braved an 8 p.m. kickoff, leaving Kobe just three wins away from its stated goal of becoming “the No. 1 club in Asia.”
“This game wasn’t difficult because we didn’t have anything to lose as underdogs,” Vissel manager Takayuki Yoshida said. “I think the players demonstrated that on the pitch and really challenged themselves.
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