2016 AFC Champions League group stage

The 2016 AFC Champions League group stage was played from 23 February to 4 May 2016. ^[1] A total of 32 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 16 places in the knockout stage of the 2016 AFC Champions League. ^[2]

Draw

The draw for the group stage was held on 10 December 2015, 16:00 MYT ( UTC+8 ), at the Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia . ^[3] The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group. ^{[4] [5]}

The seeding of each team in the draw was determined by their association and their qualifying position within their association. The mechanism of the draw was as follows: ^[6]

• For the West Zone, a draw was held for the three associations with three direct entrants (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Uzbekistan) to determine the seeds 1 placed in order for Groups A, B and C. The remaining teams were then allocated to the groups according to the rules set by AFC.
• For the East Zone, a draw was held for the two associations with three direct entrants (South Korea, Japan) to determine the seeds 1 placed in order for Groups E and F. The remaining teams were then allocated to the groups according to the rules set by AFC.

The following 32 teams (16 from West Zone, 16 from East Zone) entered into the group-stage draw, which included the 24 direct entrants and the eight winners of the qualifying play-off, whose identity were not known at the time of the draw. ^[3]

Zone	Seed 1	Seed 2	Seed 3	Seed 4
West Zone (Groups A–D)	Al-Nassr	Al-Hilal	Al-Ahli	Al-Ittihad (Winner Play-off West 1)
	Sepahan	Zob Ahan	Tractor Sazi	El Jaish (Winner Play-off West 2)
	Pakhtakor	Nasaf Qarshi	Lokomotiv Tashkent	Bunyodkor (Winner Play-off West 3)
	Al-Ain	Al-Nasr	Lekhwiya	Al-Jazira (Winner Play-off West 4)
East Zone (Groups E–H)	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	FC Seoul	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	Pohang Steelers (Winner Play-off East 1)
	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	Gamba Osaka	Urawa Red Diamonds	FC Tokyo (Winner Play-off East 2)
	Melbourne Victory	Sydney FC	Buriram United	Shandong Luneng (Winner Play-off East 3)
	Guangzhou Evergrande	Jiangsu Suning	Becamex Bình Dương	Shanghai SIPG (Winner Play-off East 4)

Format

In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the round of 16 . ^[2]

Tiebreakers

The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order (Regulations Article 11.5): ^[2]

1. Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
2. Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
3. Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
4. Greater number of away goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
5. If, after applying criteria 1 to 4, teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 10 apply;
6. Goal difference in all the group matches;
7. Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
8. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
9. Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches (1 point for a single yellow card, 3 points for a red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for a direct red card, 4 points for a yellow card followed by a direct red card);
10. Team who belongs to the member association with the higher AFC ranking.

Schedule

The schedule of each matchday was as follows. ^{[1] [2]}

Matchday	Dates	Matches
Matchday 1	23–24 February 2016	Team 1 vs. Team 4, Team 3 vs. Team 2
Matchday 2	1–2 March 2016	Team 4 vs. Team 3, Team 2 vs. Team 1
Matchday 3	15–16 March 2016	Team 4 vs. Team 2, Team 1 vs. Team 3
Matchday 4	5–6 April 2016	Team 2 vs. Team 4, Team 3 vs. Team 1
Matchday 5	19–20 April 2016	Team 4 vs. Team 1, Team 2 vs. Team 3
Matchday 6	3–4 May 2016	Team 1 vs. Team 2, Team 3 vs. Team 4

On 25 January 2016, the AFC announced the following changes to the schedule due to Saudi Arabia's refusal to play in Iran after the attack on their diplomatic missions in Iran and the ensuing deterioration of Iran–Saudi Arabia relations: ^[7]

• Group A: change matchday 1 (23 February) with matchday 6 (4 May)
• Group B: change matchday 2 (1 March) with matchday 5 (20 April)
• Group C: change matchday 1 (24 February) with matchday 6 (3 May)
• Group D: change matchday 2 (2 March) with matchday 5 (19 April)

After the changes, all matches between teams from Iran and Saudi Arabia (including possible play-off winners) were rescheduled to be played on matchdays 5 and 6 (19–20 April and 3–4 May). The venues of these matches would be decided after an evaluation deadline of 15 March 2016. As there had not been a return to normal relations between the two countries by then with Saudi Arabia refusing to lift their travel restrictions to Iran, the AFC accepted the Saudi Arabian Football Federation's proposal of playing all matches between teams from Iran and Saudi Arabia in neutral venues. ^[8] This involved a total of six matches, two each in Groups A, B and C (no matches were moved in Group D as the play-off team from Iran failed to advance to the group).

On 31 March 2016, the AFC announced that they have approved the neutral venues, with teams from Iran moving their home matches to Oman, and teams from Saudi Arabia moving their home matches to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. ^[9]

Groups

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		LOK	NAS	ITT	SEP
1	Lokomotiv Tashkent	6	2	4	0	6	3	+3	10	Advance to knockout stage		—	0–0	1–1	1–0
2	Al-Nasr	6	2	3	1	5	4	+1	9			1–1	—	0–0	2–0
3	Al-Ittihad	6	2	3	1	9	4	+5	9			1–1	1–2	—	4–0
4	Sepahan	6	1	0	5	2	11	−9	3			0–2	2–0	0–2	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

23 February 2016 (2016-02-23)

15:00  UTC+5

Lokomotiv Tashkent	1–1	Al-Ittihad
Mirzaev 89'	Report	Rivas 34'

Lokomotiv Stadium, Tashkent

Attendance: 2,203

Referee: Ben Williams (Australia)

23 February 2016 (2016-02-23)

18:30  UTC+3:30

Sepahan	2–0	Al-Nasr
Chimba 14', 51'	Report

Foolad Shahr Stadium, Isfahan

Attendance: 5,750

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

---

1 March 2016 (2016-03-01)

20:30  UTC+4

Al-Nasr	2–0	Sepahan
Nilmar 57' Pitroipa 90+3' (pen.)	Report

Al-Maktoum Stadium, Dubai

Attendance: 3,200

Referee: Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)

1 March 2016 (2016-03-01)

20:30  UTC+3

Al-Ittihad	1–1	Lokomotiv Tashkent
Muntari 14'	Report	Abdukholiqov 80' (pen.)

King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah

Attendance: 37,671

Referee: Kim Dong-jin (South Korea)

---

15 March 2016 (2016-03-15)

16:00  UTC+3:30

Sepahan	0–2	Lokomotiv Tashkent
	Report	Bikmaev 14' Mirzaev 86'

Foolad Shahr Stadium, Isfahan

Attendance: 1,620

Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

15 March 2016 (2016-03-15)

20:35  UTC+3

Al-Ittihad	1–2	Al-Nasr
Rivas 13'	Report	Nilmar 1', 74'

King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah

Attendance: 39,998

Referee: Minoru Tōjō (Japan)

---

6 April 2016 (2016-04-06)

16:00  UTC+5

Lokomotiv Tashkent	1–0	Sepahan
Abdukholiqov 54'	Report

Lokomotiv Stadium, Tashkent

Attendance: 2,620

Referee: Ali Abdulnabi (Bahrain)

6 April 2016 (2016-04-06)

20:45  UTC+4

Al-Nasr	0–0	Al-Ittihad
	Report

Al-Maktoum Stadium, Dubai

Attendance: 7,250

Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)

---

20 April 2016 (2016-04-20)

17:55  UTC+4

Al-Nasr	1–1	Lokomotiv Tashkent
Ekoko 31'	Report	Abdukholiqov 43'

Al-Maktoum Stadium, Dubai

Attendance: 6,246

Referee: Liu Kwok Man (Hong Kong)

20 April 2016 (2016-04-20)

19:00  UTC+3

Al-Ittihad	4–0	Sepahan
Al-Ghamdi 45+2', 86' Al-Muwallad 83' Rivas 90+1'	Report

Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha (Qatar) ^{[note 1]}

Attendance: 1,352

Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)

---

4 May 2016 (2016-05-04)

19:00  UTC+4

Sepahan	0–2	Al-Ittihad
	Report	Sânmărtean 15' Al-Nadhri 74'

Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat (Oman) ^{[note 1]}

Attendance: 5,250

Referee: Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob (Malaysia)

4 May 2016 (2016-05-04)

20:00  UTC+5

Lokomotiv Tashkent	0–0	Al-Nasr
	Report

Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent

Attendance: 3,303

Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ZOB	LEK	NSR	BYD
1	Zob Ahan	6	4	2	0	12	2	+10	14	Advance to knockout stage		—	0–0	3–0	5–2
2	Lekhwiya	6	2	3	1	7	2	+5	9			0–1	—	4–0	0–0
3	Al-Nassr	6	1	2	3	5	14	−9	5			0–3	1–1	—	3–3
4	Bunyodkor	6	0	3	3	5	11	−6	3			0–0	0–2	0–1	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

23 February 2016 (2016-02-23)

18:15  UTC+3

Lekhwiya	0–1	Zob Ahan
	Report	Rajabzadeh 46'

Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 1,225

Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)

23 February 2016 (2016-02-23)

20:15  UTC+3

Al-Nassr	3–3	Bunyodkor
Mierzejewski 45+1' (pen.) Al-Shehri 79' Abdulghani 85'	Report	Khamdamov 3', 76' Zouaghi 33'

King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh

Attendance: 11,138

Referee: Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)

---

1 March 2016 (2016-03-01)

18:00  UTC+5

Bunyodkor	0–1	Al-Nassr
	Report	Maïga 36'

Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent

Attendance: 8,027

Referee: Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob (Malaysia)

1 March 2016 (2016-03-01)

18:45  UTC+3:30

Zob Ahan	0–0	Lekhwiya
	Report

Foolad Shahr Stadium, Isfahan

Attendance: 4,000

Referee: Yudai Yamamoto (Japan)

---

16 March 2016 (2016-03-16)

18:00  UTC+5

Bunyodkor	0–0	Zob Ahan
	Report

Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent

Attendance: 4,567

Referee: Peter Green (Australia)

16 March 2016 (2016-03-16)

20:15  UTC+3

Al-Nassr	1–1	Lekhwiya
Ghaleb 88' (pen.)	Report	Kaluyituka 7'

King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh

Attendance: 8,590

Referee: Ali Abdulnabi (Bahrain)

---

5 April 2016 (2016-04-05)

20:00  UTC+4:30

Zob Ahan	5–2	Bunyodkor
Esmaeilifar 3' Mohammadzadeh 34' Rajabzadeh 50' Rezaei 69' Tabrizi 87'	Report	Zouaghi 78' Nurmatov 89'

Foolad Shahr Stadium, Isfahan

Attendance: 4,523

Referee: Ma Ning (China)

5 April 2016 (2016-04-05)

18:30  UTC+3

Lekhwiya	4–0	Al-Nassr
Nam Tae-hee 49' Kaluyituka 70' Flores 84' Muntari 86'	Report

Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 4,050

Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

---

20 April 2016 (2016-04-20)

19:00  UTC+5

Bunyodkor	0–2	Lekhwiya
	Report	Boudiaf 65' Muntari 79'

Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent

Attendance: 3,017

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

20 April 2016 (2016-04-20)

20:30  UTC+4

Zob Ahan	3–0	Al-Nassr
Pahlavan 27', 83' Rezaei 74'	Report

Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat (Oman) ^{[note 1]}

Attendance: 3,400

Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

---

4 May 2016 (2016-05-04)

21:15  UTC+4

Al-Nassr	0–3	Zob Ahan
	Report	Pahlavan 30' Hassanzadeh 42' (pen.) Beikzadeh 87'

Al-Rashid Stadium, Dubai (United Arab Emirates) ^{[note 1]}

Attendance: 886

Referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)

4 May 2016 (2016-05-04)

20:15  UTC+3

Lekhwiya	0–0	Bunyodkor
	Report

Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 1,100

Referee: Kim Dong-jin (South Korea)

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		TRA	HIL	PAK	JAZ
1	Tractor Sazi	6	4	0	2	10	3	+7	12	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–2	2–0	4–0
2	Al-Hilal	6	3	2	1	10	7	+3	11			0–2	—	4–1	1–0
3	Pakhtakor	6	3	1	2	10	9	+1	10			1–0	2–2	—	3–0
4	Al-Jazira	6	0	1	5	2	13	−11	1			0–1	1–1	1–3	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

24 February 2016 (2016-02-24)

16:30  UTC+5

Pakhtakor	2–2	Al-Hilal
Sergeev 70' Khashimov 89'	Report	Al-Qahtani 60' Al-Salem 84'

Pakhtakor Markaziy Stadium, Tashkent

Attendance: 3,800

Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)

24 February 2016 (2016-02-24)

16:00  UTC+3:30

Tractor Sazi	4–0	Al-Jazira
Rahmani 4', 60' Khalilzadeh 10' Sharifi 54'	Report

Yadegar-e Emam Stadium, Tabriz

Attendance: 13,452

Referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)

---

2 March 2016 (2016-03-02)

20:30  UTC+4

Al-Jazira	0–1	Tractor Sazi
	Report	Rahmani 31'

Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Attendance: 6,820

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

2 March 2016 (2016-03-02)

20:30  UTC+3

Al-Hilal	4–1	Pakhtakor
Al-Zori 55' Orahovac 58' (o.g.) Kaabi 61', 78'	Report	Sergeev 31'

Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh

Attendance: 9,456

Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)

---

15 March 2016 (2016-03-15)

17:00  UTC+5

Pakhtakor	1–0	Tractor Sazi
Sergeev 41'	Report

Pakhtakor Markaziy Stadium, Tashkent

Attendance: 2,223

Referee: Kim Dong-jin (South Korea)

15 March 2016 (2016-03-15)

20:35  UTC+4

Al-Jazira	1–1	Al-Hilal
Juma 90+4'	Report	Aílton 9'

Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Attendance: 14,372

Referee: Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)

---

6 April 2016 (2016-04-06)

19:15  UTC+4:30

Tractor Sazi	2–0	Pakhtakor
Augusto 59' Aghaei 83'	Report

Yadegar-e Emam Stadium, Tabriz

Attendance: 33,450

Referee: Yudai Yamamoto (Japan)

6 April 2016 (2016-04-06)

20:45  UTC+3

Al-Hilal	1–0	Al-Jazira
Aílton 36'	Report

Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh

Attendance: 10,316

Referee: Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob (Malaysia)

---

19 April 2016 (2016-04-19)

18:35  UTC+3

Al-Hilal	0–2	Tractor Sazi
	Report	Nong 66' Hatami 81'

Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha (Qatar) ^{[note 1]}

Attendance: 2,642

Referee: Peter Green (Australia)

19 April 2016 (2016-04-19)

20:50  UTC+4

Al-Jazira	1–3	Pakhtakor
Mabkhout 62' (pen.)	Report	Karimov 10' Sergeev 64', 83' (pen.)

Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Attendance: 1,292

Referee: Jarred Gillett (Australia)

---

3 May 2016 (2016-05-03)

19:30  UTC+5

Pakhtakor	3–0	Al-Jazira
Berdiev 13' Talipov 24' Masharipov 80'	Report

Pakhtakor Markaziy Stadium, Tashkent

Attendance: 4,527

Referee: Ma Ning (China)

3 May 2016 (2016-05-03)

18:30  UTC+4

Tractor Sazi	1–2	Al-Hilal
Nong 48'	Report	Al-Dawsari 15' Aílton 71'

Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat (Oman) ^{[note 1]}

Attendance: 8,545

Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok (South Korea)

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		JSH	AIN	AHL	NSF
1	El Jaish	6	3	1	2	6	8	−2	10	Advance to knockout stage		—	2–1	1–4	1–0
2	Al-Ain	6	3	1	2	8	6	+2	10			1–2	—	1–0	2–0
3	Al-Ahli	6	3	0	3	10	7	+3	9			2–0	1–2	—	2–1
4	Nasaf Qarshi	6	1	2	3	4	7	−3	5			0–0	1–1	2–1	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

24 February 2016 (2016-02-24)

19:00  UTC+4

Al-Ain	1–2	El Jaish
Douglas 65' (pen.)	Report	Hamdallah 9' Romarinho 45'

Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain

Attendance: 8,226

Referee: Minoru Tōjō (Japan)

24 February 2016 (2016-02-24)

20:10  UTC+3

Al-Ahli	2–1	Nasaf Qarshi
Al Fatil 2' Al-Somah 47'	Report	Abdukhalikov 29'

King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah

Attendance: 17,161

Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

---

2 March 2016 (2016-03-02)

18:00  UTC+5

Nasaf Qarshi	2–1	Al-Ahli
Abdukhalikov 47' Karimov 60'	Report	Assiri 71' (pen.)

Qarshi Markaziy Stadium, Qarshi

Attendance: 16,221

Referee: Ma Ning (China)

2 March 2016 (2016-03-02)

18:30  UTC+3

El Jaish	2–1	Al-Ain
Hamdallah 49' Abubakar 79'	Report	Al-Kathiri 86'

Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 6,470

Referee: Kim Sang-woo (South Korea)

---

16 March 2016 (2016-03-16)

19:10  UTC+4

Al-Ain	1–0	Al-Ahli
O. Abdulrahman 71'	Report

Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain

Attendance: 12,473

Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

16 March 2016 (2016-03-16)

18:45  UTC+3

El Jaish	1–0	Nasaf Qarshi
Rashidov 87'	Report

Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 5,240

Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

---

5 April 2016 (2016-04-05)

18:45  UTC+5

Nasaf Qarshi	0–0	El Jaish
	Report

Qarshi Markaziy Stadium, Qarshi

Attendance: 16,000

Referee: Liu Kwok Man (Hong Kong)

5 April 2016 (2016-04-05)

20:25  UTC+3

Al-Ahli	1–2	Al-Ain
Al-Amri 90+3'	Report	Douglas 25', 77'

King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah

Attendance: 13,608

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

---

19 April 2016 (2016-04-19)

19:30  UTC+5

Nasaf Qarshi	1–1	Al-Ain
Karimov 1'	Report	Asprilla 32'

Qarshi Markaziy Stadium, Qarshi

Attendance: 10,952

Referee: Kim Dong-jin (South Korea)

19 April 2016 (2016-04-19)

19:00  UTC+3

El Jaish	1–4	Al-Ahli
Hamdallah 51'	Report	Seraj 22', 57' Assiri 43' M. Hawsawi 52'

Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 3,250

Referee: Ben Williams (Australia)

---

3 May 2016 (2016-05-03)

20:30  UTC+4

Al-Ain	2–0	Nasaf Qarshi
Asprilla 39' Ahmed 90'	Report

Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain

Attendance: 8,163

Referee: Minoru Tōjō (Japan)

3 May 2016 (2016-05-03)

19:30  UTC+3

Al-Ahli	2–0	El Jaish
Marquinho 62' O. Hawsawi 85'	Report

King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah

Attendance: 6,850

Referee: Mohanad Qasim Eesee Sarray (Iraq)

Group E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		JHM	TOK	JIA	BBD
1	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	6	3	1	2	13	9	+4	10	Advance to knockout stage		—	2–1	2–2	2–0
2	FC Tokyo	6	3	1	2	8	8	0	10			0–3	—	0–0	3–1
3	Jiangsu Suning	6	2	3	1	10	7	+3	9			3–2	1–2	—	3–0
4	Becamex Binh Duong	6	1	1	4	6	13	−7	4			3–2	1–2	1–1	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

23 February 2016 (2016-02-23)

19:00  UTC+9

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	2–1	FC Tokyo
Ko Moo-yeol 39' Lee Dong-gook 83'	Report	Abe 87'

Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju

Attendance: 15,155

Referee: Mohd Amirul Izwan (Malaysia)

23 February 2016 (2016-02-23)

17:00  UTC+7

Becamex Bình Dương	1–1	Jiangsu Suning
Nguyễn Anh Đức 28' (pen.)	Report	Ji Xiang 13'

Gò Đậu Stadium, Thủ Dầu Một

Attendance: 11,800

Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

---

1 March 2016 (2016-03-01)

19:30  UTC+9

FC Tokyo	3–1	Becamex Bình Dương
Burns 50' Bùi Tấn Trường 67' (o.g.) Maeda 84'	Report	Nguyễn Anh Đức 24'

Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo

Attendance: 7,760

Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

1 March 2016 (2016-03-01)

20:00  UTC+8

Jiangsu Suning	3–2	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Alex Teixeira 16' Jô 65' Wu Xi 69'	Report	Lee Dong-gook 62' Sainsbury 86' (o.g.)

Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre, Nanjing

Attendance: 34,175

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

---

15 March 2016 (2016-03-15)

19:00  UTC+9

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	2–0	Becamex Bình Dương
Ricardo Lopes 41' Lee Dong-gook 90'	Report

Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju

Attendance: 7,168

Referee: Abdulrahman Abdou (Qatar)

15 March 2016 (2016-03-15)

19:30  UTC+9

FC Tokyo	0–0	Jiangsu Suning
	Report

Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo

Attendance: 10,265

Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

---

6 April 2016 (2016-04-06)

17:00  UTC+7

Becamex Bình Dương	3–2	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Nguyễn Anh Đức 12' (pen.), 88' (pen.) Amougou 35'	Report	Lee Jong-ho 27' Han Kyo-won 28'

Gò Đậu Stadium, Thủ Dầu Một

Attendance: 4,500

Referee: Dmitriy Mashentsev (Kyrgyzstan)

6 April 2016 (2016-04-06)

20:00  UTC+8

Jiangsu Suning	1–2	FC Tokyo
Jô 34' (pen.)	Report	Morishige 30', 83'

Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre, Nanjing

Attendance: 45,065

Referee: Ben Williams (Australia)

---

20 April 2016 (2016-04-20)

19:30  UTC+9

FC Tokyo	0–3	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
	Report	Kim Bo-kyung 35' Lee Jae-sung 60' Ko Moo-yeol 90+1'

Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo

Attendance: 9,056

Referee: Mohanad Qasim Eesee Sarray (Iraq)

20 April 2016 (2016-04-20)

20:00  UTC+8

Jiangsu Suning	3–0	Becamex Bình Dương
Wu Xi 6' Jô 8' Ji Xiang 81'	Report

Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre, Nanjing

Attendance: 33,430

Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)

---

4 May 2016 (2016-05-04)

19:00  UTC+9

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	2–2	Jiangsu Suning
Leonardo 19' (pen.) Lim Jong-eun 69'	Report	Teixeira 24' Jô 54' (pen.)

Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju

Attendance: 17,312

Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

4 May 2016 (2016-05-04)

17:00  UTC+7

Becamex Bình Dương	1–2	FC Tokyo
Lê Công Vinh 68' (pen.)	Report	Maeda 21', 55'

Gò Đậu Stadium, Thủ Dầu Một

Attendance: 2,800

Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

Group F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SEO	SHD	HIR	BUR
1	FC Seoul	6	4	1	1	17	5	+12	13	Advance to knockout stage		—	0–0	4–1	2–1
2	Shandong Luneng	6	3	2	1	7	5	+2	11			1–4	—	1–0	3–0
3	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	6	3	0	3	9	8	+1	9			2–1	1–2	—	3–0
4	Buriram United	6	0	1	5	1	16	−15	1			0–6	0–0	0–2	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

23 February 2016 (2016-02-23)

19:00  UTC+9

Sanfrecce Hiroshima	1–2	Shandong Luneng
Shimizu 64'	Report	Yang Xu 67' Tardelli 78'

Hiroshima Big Arch, Hiroshima

Attendance: 5,809

Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)

23 February 2016 (2016-02-23)

18:00  UTC+7

Buriram United	0–6	FC Seoul
	Report	Adriano 28', 40', 50', 60' Damjanović 67' Lee Seok-hyun 90'

New I-Mobile Stadium, Buriram

Attendance: 11,583

Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)

---

1 March 2016 (2016-03-01)

14:00  UTC+9

FC Seoul	4–1	Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Kim Won-sik 31' Adriano 49', 56', 69'	Report	Chiba 25'

Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul

Attendance: 18,115

Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

1 March 2016 (2016-03-01)

15:30  UTC+8

Shandong Luneng	3–0	Buriram United
Tardelli 65' Jucilei 81' Zhao Mingjian 86'	Report

Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Jinan

Attendance: 23,976

Referee: Fahad Al-Marri (Qatar)

---

16 March 2016 (2016-03-16)

15:30  UTC+8

Shandong Luneng	1–4	FC Seoul
Jucilei 62'	Report	Adriano 28', 71' Go Yo-han 65' Damjanović 68'

Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Jinan

Attendance: 21,921

Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)

16 March 2016 (2016-03-16)

19:00  UTC+9

Sanfrecce Hiroshima	3–0	Buriram United
Asano 42', 55' Shimizu 81'	Report

Hiroshima Big Arch, Hiroshima

Attendance: 6,411

Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)

---

5 April 2016 (2016-04-05)

19:30  UTC+9

FC Seoul	0–0	Shandong Luneng
	Report

Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul

Attendance: 10,147

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

5 April 2016 (2016-04-05)

18:00  UTC+7

Buriram United	0–2	Sanfrecce Hiroshima
	Report	Miyayoshi 45' Shibasaki 88'

New I-Mobile Stadium, Buriram

Attendance: 5,532

Referee: Fahad Al-Mirdasi (Saudi Arabia)

---

20 April 2016 (2016-04-20)

19:30  UTC+9

FC Seoul	2–1	Buriram United
Damjanović 24' Park Yong-woo 43'	Report	Túñez 67' (pen.)

Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul

Attendance: 5,109

Referee: Abdulrahman Abdou (Qatar)

20 April 2016 (2016-04-20)

19:30  UTC+8

Shandong Luneng	1–0	Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Tardelli 10'	Report

Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Jinan

Attendance: 24,799

Referee: Ammar Al-Jeneibi (United Arab Emirates)

---

4 May 2016 (2016-05-04)

19:30  UTC+9

Sanfrecce Hiroshima	2–1	FC Seoul
Asano 27' Minagawa 39'	Report	Adriano 88' (pen.)

Hiroshima Big Arch, Hiroshima

Attendance: 13,328

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

4 May 2016 (2016-05-04)

17:30  UTC+7

Buriram United	0–0	Shandong Luneng
	Report

New I-Mobile Stadium, Buriram

Attendance: 3,832

Referee: Ali Abdulnabi (Bahrain)

Group G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SSI	MEL	SSB	GAM
1	Shanghai SIPG	6	4	0	2	10	8	+2	12	Advance to knockout stage		—	3–1	2–1	2–1
2	Melbourne Victory	6	2	3	1	7	7	0	9 [lower-alpha 1]			2–1	—	0–0	2–1
3	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	6	2	3	1	7	4	+3	9 [lower-alpha 1]			3–0	1–1	—	0–0
4	Gamba Osaka	6	0	2	4	4	9	−5	2			0–2	1–1	1–2	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:

1. Head-to-head points: Melbourne Victory 2, Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2. Head-to-head away goal: Melbourne Victory 1, Suwon Samsung Bluewings 0

24 February 2016 (2016-02-24)

19:45  UTC+11

Melbourne Victory	2–1	Shanghai SIPG
Ingham 31' Berisha 73' (pen.)	Report	Wu Lei 52'

Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne

Attendance: 9,701

Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

24 February 2016 (2016-02-24)

19:30  UTC+9

Suwon Samsung Bluewings	0–0	Gamba Osaka
	Report

Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon

Attendance: 9,947

Referee: Abdulrahman Abdou (Qatar)

---

2 March 2016 (2016-03-02)

19:00  UTC+9

Gamba Osaka	1–1	Melbourne Victory
Endō 57'	Report	Ansell 3'

Suita City Football Stadium, Suita

Attendance: 14,270

Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

2 March 2016 (2016-03-02)

19:30  UTC+8

Shanghai SIPG	2–1	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Elkeson 32' Wu Lei 52'	Report	Jang Hyun-soo 72'

Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai

Attendance: 26,351

Referee: Dmitriy Mashentsev (Kyrgyzstan)

---

15 March 2016 (2016-03-15)

19:45  UTC+11

Melbourne Victory	0–0	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
	Report

Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne

Attendance: 7,066

Referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)

15 March 2016 (2016-03-15)

19:30  UTC+8

Shanghai SIPG	2–1	Gamba Osaka
Elkeson 41', 62'	Report	Patric 60'

Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai

Attendance: 29,005

Referee: Mohanad Qasim Eesee Sarray (Iraq)

---

6 April 2016 (2016-04-06)

19:00  UTC+9

Gamba Osaka	0–2	Shanghai SIPG
	Report	Wu Lei 66' Lü Wenjun 72'

Suita City Football Stadium, Suita

Attendance: 14,756

Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

6 April 2016 (2016-04-06)

19:30  UTC+9

Suwon Samsung Bluewings	1–1	Melbourne Victory
Kwon Chang-hoon 58'	Report	Barbarouses 60'

Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon

Attendance: 6,123

Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

---

19 April 2016 (2016-04-19)

19:00  UTC+9

Gamba Osaka	1–2	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Konno 89'	Report	Santos 49', 57' (pen.)

Suita City Football Stadium, Suita

Attendance: 10,846

Referee: Ali Abdulnabi (Bahrain)

19 April 2016 (2016-04-19)

19:30  UTC+8

Shanghai SIPG	3–1	Melbourne Victory
Yu Hai 38' Elkeson 40' Conca 65' (pen.)	Report	Makarounas 81'

Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai

Attendance: 32,355

Referee: Fahad Al-Marri (Qatar)

---

3 May 2016 (2016-05-03)

20:00  UTC+10

Melbourne Victory	2–1	Gamba Osaka
Berisha 13' (pen.) Thompson 17'	Report	Ademilson 85'

Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne

Attendance: 10,147

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

3 May 2016 (2016-05-03)

19:00  UTC+9

Suwon Samsung Bluewings	3–0	Shanghai SIPG
Kim Gun-hee 7' (pen.), 54' Min Sang-gi 52'	Report

Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon

Attendance: 4,277

Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

Group H

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SYD	URA	GZE	POH
1	Sydney FC	6	3	1	2	4	4	0	10	Advance to knockout stage		—	0–0	2–1	1–0
2	Urawa Red Diamonds	6	2	3	1	6	4	+2	9			2–0	—	1–0	1–1
3	Guangzhou Evergrande	6	2	2	2	6	5	+1	8			1–0	2–2	—	0–0
4	Pohang Steelers	6	1	2	3	2	5	−3	5			0–1	1–0	0–2	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

24 February 2016 (2016-02-24)

19:30  UTC+9

Urawa Red Diamonds	2–0	Sydney FC
Muto 8' Koroki 65' (pen.)	Report

Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama

Attendance: 19,500

Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)

24 February 2016 (2016-02-24)

19:30  UTC+8

Guangzhou Evergrande	0–0	Pohang Steelers
	Report

Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou

Attendance: 571 ^{[note 2]}

Referee: Mohanad Qasim Eesee Sarray (Iraq)

---

2 March 2016 (2016-03-02)

20:00  UTC+11

Sydney FC	2–1	Guangzhou Evergrande
Stambolziev 18' Dimitrijević 89'	Report	Calver 25' (o.g.)

Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney

Attendance: 18,149

Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

2 March 2016 (2016-03-02)

19:30  UTC+9

Pohang Steelers	1–0	Urawa Red Diamonds
Son Jun-ho 19' (pen.)	Report

Pohang Steel Yard, Pohang

Attendance: 7,000

Referee: Abdulrahman Abdou (Qatar)

---

16 March 2016 (2016-03-16)

19:30  UTC+9

Pohang Steelers	0–1	Sydney FC
	Report	Naumoff 41'

Pohang Steel Yard, Pohang

Attendance: 4,247

Referee: Fahad Al-Mirdasi (Saudi Arabia)

16 March 2016 (2016-03-16)

19:30  UTC+8

Guangzhou Evergrande	2–2	Urawa Red Diamonds
Goulart 6' (pen.), 14'	Report	Muto 30' Koroki 89'

Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou

Attendance: 48,816

Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)

---

5 April 2016 (2016-04-05)

20:00  UTC+10

Sydney FC	1–0	Pohang Steelers
Ninković 51'	Report

Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney

Attendance: 5,642

Referee: Mohsen Torky (Iran)

5 April 2016 (2016-04-05)

19:30  UTC+9

Urawa Red Diamonds	1–0	Guangzhou Evergrande
Muto 52'	Report

Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama

Attendance: 30,282

Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

---

19 April 2016 (2016-04-19)

19:30  UTC+9

Pohang Steelers	0–2	Guangzhou Evergrande
	Report	Goulart 33' Gao Lin 47'

Pohang Steel Yard, Pohang

Attendance: 9,274

Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

20 April 2016 (2016-04-20)

20:00  UTC+10

Sydney FC	0–0	Urawa Red Diamonds
	Report

Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney

Attendance: 8,803

Referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)

---

3 May 2016 (2016-05-03)

18:30  UTC+8

Guangzhou Evergrande	1–0	Sydney FC
Gao Lin 2'	Report

Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou

Attendance: 33,517

Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)

3 May 2016 (2016-05-03)

19:30  UTC+9

Urawa Red Diamonds	1–1	Pohang Steelers
Ljubijankić 87' (pen.)	Report	Veselinović 65' (pen.)

Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama

Attendance: 32,409

Referee: Fahad Al-Mirdasi (Saudi Arabia)

Notes

1. Matches between teams from Iran and Saudi Arabia were played on neutral venues due to deterioration of Iran–Saudi Arabia relations. ^[8]
2. Guangzhou Evergrande played their first group stage home match behind closed doors due to breaches of the AFC Champions League Regulations. ^[10]

References

1. "AFC Calendar of Competitions 2016" (PDF). AFC.
2. "2016 AFC Champions League Competition Regulations" (PDF). AFC. 28 November 2015.
3. "Champions Guangzhou Evergrande to learn ACL 2016 opponents". AFC. 4 December 2015.
4. "AFC Champions League 2016 Group Stage Draw". AFC. 10 December 2015.
5. "ACL 2016 Draw Results" (PDF). AFC.
6. "AFC Champions League 2016: Official Draw". AFC.
7. "Decisions following AFC Competitions Committee meeting". AFC. 25 January 2016.
8. "Saudi Arabia and Iran clubs to play at neutral venues in Champions League". AFC. 16 March 2016.
9. "IR Iran and Saudi Arabia ACL clubs to play in Oman, Qatar and UAE". AFC. 31 March 2016.
10. "Guangzhou Evergrande Sanctioned For Regulatory Violations At AFC Champions League Final 2015". AFC. 3 February 2016.

External links

• AFC Champions League, the-AFC.com