Vissel Kobe edged closer to a place in the knockout rounds of the Asian Champions League Elite on Tuesday after a late error by visiting goalkeeper Dylan Peraic-Cullen handed the Japanese champions a 3-2 win over Central Coast Mariners in Kobe.
In other action, Matias Vargas scored a hat trick as 10-man Shanghai Port defeated South Korea's Ulsan HD 3-1 while Kawasaki Frontale won 3-0 over Buriram United and Shandong Taishan claimed a 1-0 win over Johor Darul Ta'zim.
Takayuki Yoshida's Kobe side leads the east Asian standings with 13 points from the first five league phase games as clubs attempt to finish in the top eight places in the 12-team division to advance to the last 16. The win on Tuesday came just days after the club secured the Emperor's Cup over Kansai rival Gamba Osaka.
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