2017 AFC Champions League

2017 AFC Champions League

Tournament details
Dates	Qualifying: 24 January – 8 February 2017 Competition proper: 20 February – 25 November 2017
Teams	Competition proper: 32 Total: 47 (from 19 associations)
Final positions
Champions	Urawa Red Diamonds (2nd title)
Runners-up	Al-Hilal
Tournament statistics
Matches played	126
Goals scored	394 (3.13 per match)
Attendance	1,779,826 (14,126 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Omar Kharbin (10 goals)
Best player(s)	Yōsuke Kashiwagi
Fair play award	Urawa Red Diamonds
← 2016 2018 →

The 2017 AFC Champions League was the 36th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 15th under the current AFC Champions League title.

Urawa Red Diamonds defeated Al-Hilal in the final to win their second AFC Champions League title, and qualified as the AFC representative at the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. ^[1]

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors were the defending champions, but they were excluded from the 2017 season due to a bribery scandal in the domestic K League Classic. ^[2] Jeonbuk appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, ^[3] but their request for provisional measures was rejected on 3 February. ^[4]

Association team allocation

The AFC Competitions Committee proposed a revamp of the AFC club competitions on 25 January 2014, ^[5] which was ratified by the AFC Executive Committee on 16 April 2014. ^[6] The 46 AFC member associations (excluding the associate member Northern Mariana Islands) are ranked based on their national team's and clubs' performance over the last four years in AFC competitions, with the allocation of slots for the 2017 and 2018 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2016 AFC rankings (Entry Manual Article 2.2): ^[7]

• The associations are split into two regions:
  • West Region consists of the associations from the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA), and the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF).
  • East Region consists of the associations from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) and the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF).
• In each region, there are four groups in the group stage, including a total of 12 direct slots, with the 4 remaining slots filled through play-offs.
• The top 12 associations in each region as per the AFC rankings are eligible to enter the AFC Champions League, as long as they fulfill the AFC Champions League criteria.
• The top six associations in each region get at least one direct slot in the group stage, while the remaining associations get only play-off slots (as well as AFC Cup group stage slots):
  • The associations ranked 1st and 2nd each get three direct slots and one play-off slot.
  • The associations ranked 3rd and 4th each get two direct slots and two play-off slots.
  • The associations ranked 5th each get one direct slot and two play-off slots.
  • The associations ranked 6th each get one direct slot and one play-off slot.
  • The associations ranked 7th to 12th each get one play-off slot.
• The maximum number of slots for each association is one-third of the total number of eligible teams in the top division.
• If any association gives up its direct slots, they are redistributed to the highest eligible association, with each association limited to a maximum of three direct slots.
• If any association gives up its play-off slots, they are annulled and not redistributed to any other association.

For the 2017 AFC Champions League, the associations were allocated slots according to their association ranking published on 30 November 2016, ^[8] which takes into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, as well as their national team's FIFA World Rankings, during the period between 2013 and 2016. ^{[7] [9]}

The slot allocation was announced on 7 December 2016, with India and Maldives returning to the West Region. ^[10] The final slot allocation, after unused slots were redistributed, was announced on 12 December 2016. ^{[11] [12]}

Participation for 2017 AFC Champions League [13]
	Participating
	Not participating

West Region Rank Member Association Points [8] Slots Group stage Play-off Region AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 2 Prelim. round 1 1 2 United Arab Emirates 87.555 3 1 0 0 2 3 Saudi Arabia 84.698 3 1 0 0 3 4 Iran 78.908 3 1 0 0 4 5 Qatar 78.171 2 2 0 0 5 9 Uzbekistan 56.876 1 1 1 0 6 10 Iraq [Note IRQ] 37.240 0 0 0 0 7 11 Kuwait [Note KUW] 36.457 0 0 0 0 8 13 Syria [Note SYR] 34.257 0 0 0 0 9 15 Jordan 31.213 0 0 1 0 10 18 India 27.930 0 0 1 0 11 19 Bahrain 27.353 0 0 1 0 12 20 Lebanon [Note LIB] 22.077 0 0 0 0 Total 12 6 4 0 10 22

East Region Rank Member Association Points [8] Slots Group stage Play-off Region AFC Play-off round Prelim. round 2 Prelim. round 1 1 1 South Korea 96.311 3 1 0 0 2 6 Japan 75.807 3 1 0 0 3 7 China 72.719 2 2 0 0 4 8 Australia [Note AUS] 72.599 2 0 1 0 5 12 Thailand 34.753 1 0 2 0 6 14 Hong Kong 31.797 1 0 1 0 7 16 Vietnam 29.273 0 0 1 0 8 17 Malaysia 28.865 0 0 1 0 9 21 Indonesia [Note IDN] 20.372 0 0 0 0 10 24 Myanmar 17.220 0 0 1 0 11 25 Philippines 17.188 0 0 0 1 12 27 Singapore 13.664 0 0 0 1 Total 12 4 7 2 13 25

Notes

1. ^
   Iraq (IRQ): Iraq did not fulfill the AFC Champions League criteria.
2. ^
   Kuwait (KUW): Kuwait could not enter due to FIFA's suspension of the Kuwait Football Association at the entry deadline. ^[14]
3. ^
   Syria (SYR): Syria did not fulfill the AFC Champions League criteria.
4. ^
   Lebanon (LIB): Lebanon did not fulfill the AFC Champions League criteria.
5. ^
   Australia (AUS): The top division run by the Football Federation Australia, the A-League, only had nine Australia-based teams in the 2015–16 season, so Australia could only get a maximum of three total slots (Entry Manual 5.4). ^[7]
6. ^
   Indonesia (IDN): Indonesia did not submit any entry.

Teams

The following 47 teams from 19 associations entered the competition. ^[11]

In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count only those since the 2002–03 season (including qualifying rounds), when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League.

West Region Team Qualifying method App Last App Group stage direct entrants (Groups A–D) Al-Ahli 2015–16 UAE Pro-League champions 7th 2015 Al-Jazira 2015–16 UAE President's Cup winners 9th 2016 Al-Ain 2015–16 UAE Pro-League runners-up 12th 2016 Al-Ahli 2015–16 Saudi Professional League champions and 2016 King Cup winners 9th 2016 Al-Hilal 2015–16 Saudi Professional League runners-up 13th 2016 Al-Taawoun 2015–16 Saudi Professional League 4th place [Note KSA] 1st none Esteghlal Khuzestan 2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League champions 1st none Zob Ahan 2015–16 Hazfi Cup winners and 2016 Iranian Super Cup winners 6th 2016 Persepolis 2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League runners-up 6th 2015 Al-Rayyan 2015–16 Qatar Stars League champions 7th 2014 Lekhwiya 2016 Emir of Qatar Cup winners 6th 2016 Lokomotiv Tashkent 2016 Uzbek League champions and 2016 Uzbekistan Cup winners 5th 2016 Qualifying play-off participants Entering in play-off round Al-Wahda 2015–16 UAE Pro-League 3rd place 8th 2015 Al-Fateh 2015–16 Saudi Professional League 5th place [Note KSA] 2nd 2014 Esteghlal 2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League 3rd place 8th 2014 El Jaish 2015–16 Qatar Stars League runners-up 5th 2016 Al-Sadd 2015–16 Qatar Stars League 3rd place 12th 2016 Bunyodkor 2016 Uzbek League runners-up 10th 2016 Entering in preliminary round 2 Nasaf Qarshi 2016 Uzbek League 3rd place 5th 2016 Al-Wehdat 2015–16 Jordan League champions 4th 2016 Bengaluru FC 2015–16 I-League champions 2nd 2015 Al-Hidd 2015–16 Bahrain First Division League champions 2nd 2014

East Region Team Qualifying method App Last App Group stage direct entrants (Groups E–H) FC Seoul 2016 K League Classic champions 7th 2016 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 2016 Korean FA Cup winners 8th 2016 Jeju United 2016 K League Classic 3rd place [Note KOR] 2nd 2011 Kashima Antlers 2016 J1 League champions and 2016 Emperor's Cup winners 7th 2015 Urawa Red Diamonds 2016 J1 League runners-up 6th 2016 Kawasaki Frontale 2016 J1 League 3rd place 5th 2014 Guangzhou Evergrande 2016 Chinese Super League champions and 2016 Chinese FA Cup winners 6th 2016 Jiangsu Suning 2016 Chinese Super League runners-up 3rd 2016 Adelaide United 2015–16 A-League premiers and 2016 A-League Grand Final winners 6th 2016 Western Sydney Wanderers 2015–16 A-League regular season runners-up 3rd 2015 Muangthong United 2016 Thai League champions [Note THA] 6th 2016 Eastern 2015–16 Hong Kong Premier League champions [Note HKG] 1st none Qualifying play-off participants Entering in play-off round Ulsan Hyundai 2016 K League Classic 4th place [Note KOR] 5th 2014 Gamba Osaka 2016 J1 League 4th place 9th 2016 Shanghai SIPG 2016 Chinese Super League 3rd place 2nd 2016 Shanghai Shenhua 2016 Chinese Super League 4th place 7th 2011 Entering in preliminary round 2 Brisbane Roar 2015–16 A-League regular season 3rd place 4th 2015 Sukhothai 2016 Thai FA Cup co-winners [Note THA] 1st none Bangkok United 2016 Thai League runners-up [Note THA] 2nd 2007 Kitchee 2015–16 Hong Kong season play-off winners [Note HKG] 3rd 2016 Hà Nội 2016 V.League 1 champions 4th 2016 Johor Darul Ta'zim 2016 Liga Super champions 3rd 2016 Yadanarbon 2016 Myanmar National League champions 2nd 2015 Entering in preliminary round 1 Global 2016 UFL Division 1 champions 1st none Tampines Rovers 2016 S.League runners-up [Note SIN] 3rd 2016

Notes

1. ^
   Hong Kong (HKG): Eastern, the 2015–16 Hong Kong Premier League champions, initially gave up their place in the AFC Champions League due to financial problems. As a result, the Hong Kong Football Association decided that Kitchee, the 2015–16 Hong Kong season play-off winners, would enter the group stage instead of the qualifying play-offs, while Southern District, the play-off runners-up, would enter the qualifying play-offs. ^[15] However, the AFC did not allow Kitchee to replace Eastern in the AFC Champions League group stage, and Kitchee would still enter the qualifying play-offs, while Southern District would not be able to participate in the AFC Champions League. ^{[16] [17]} On 21 November 2016, the Hong Kong Football Association announced they had reversed their decision and would put forward Eastern and Kitchee as their representatives. ^[18]
2. ^
   South Korea (KOR): On 18 January 2017, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, the 2016 K League Classic runners-up, were excluded from the 2017 AFC Champions League due to a bribery scandal in the domestic K League Classic. ^[19] As a result, Jeju United, the league 3rd place, entered the group stage instead of the qualifying play-offs to replace them, while Ulsan Hyundai, the league 4th place, entered the qualifying play-offs to replace Jeju United. ^[2]
3. ^
   Saudi Arabia (KSA): Al-Ittihad, the 2015–16 Saudi Professional League 3rd place, could not participate in the AFC Champions League due to club licensing requirements problems. As a result, Al-Taawoun, the league 4th place, entered the group stage instead of the qualifying play-offs, while Al-Fateh, the league 5th place, entered the qualifying play-offs. ^[20]
4. ^
   Singapore (SIN): Albirex Niigata Singapore, the 2016 S.League champions, is a satellite team of Japanese club Albirex Niigata and thus ineligible to represent Singapore in AFC club competitions. As a result, Tampines Rovers, the league runners-up, entered the qualifying play-offs.
5. ^
   Thailand (THA): Due to the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the Football Association of Thailand cancelled the remainder of the 2016 Thai football season on 14 October 2016. ^[21] The standings of the 2016 Thai Premier League at the point of cancellation were declared as final, meaning Muangthong United and Bangkok United finished as the league champions and runners-up respectively. ^[22] The four semi-finalists of the 2016 Thai FA Cup were declared as co-winners, and a draw was held to decide which team would represent Thailand in the AFC Champions League, and was won by Sukhothai. ^[23]

Al-Ahli

Al-Jazira
Al-Wahda (p)

Al-Ain

Al-Ahli

Al-Hilal

Al-Taawoun

Al-Fateh (p)

Esteghlal K

Zob Ahan

Persepolis
Esteghlal (p)

Qatar

Teams from Qatar:
Al-Rayyan
Lekhwiya
El Jaish (p)
Al-Sadd (p)

Lokomotiv
Bunyodkor (p)

Nasaf (p)

Al-Wehdat (p)

Bengaluru FC (p)

Al-Hidd (p)

FC Seoul

Suwon SB

Jeju U

Ulsan H (p)

Kashima A

Urawa RD

Kawasaki F

G Osaka (p)

Guangzhou E

Jiangsu S

Shanghai SIPG (p)
Shanghai Sh (p)

Adelaide United

WS Wanderers

Brisbane Roar (p)

Muangthong U

Bangkok U (p)

Sukhothai (p)

Eastern
Kitchee (p)

Hà Nội (p)

Johor DT (p)

Yadanarbon (p)

Global (p)

Tampines R (p)

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Location of teams of the 2017 AFC Champions League.
West Region
East Region
(p) Qualifying play-off participants

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows. ^[24] Starting from 2017, matches in the West Region were played on Mondays and Tuesdays instead of Tuesdays and Wednesdays. ^[25]

Stage	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Preliminary stage	Preliminary round 1	No draw	24 January 2017
	Preliminary round 2		25 & 31 January 2017
Play-off stage	Play-off round		7–8 February 2017
Group stage	Matchday 1	13 December 2016 (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia) [10]	20–22 February 2017
	Matchday 2		27 February – 1 March 2017
	Matchday 3		13–15 March 2017
	Matchday 4		10–12 April 2017
	Matchday 5		24–26 April 2017
	Matchday 6		8–10 May 2017
Knockout stage	Round of 16		22–24 May 2017	29–31 May 2017
	Quarter-finals	6 June 2017 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) [26]	21–23 August 2017	11–13 September 2017
	Semi-finals		26–27 September 2017	17–18 October 2017
	Final		18 November 2017	25 November 2017

Qualifying play-offs

Main article: 2017 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs

In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played as a single match. Extra time and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.2). The eight winners of the play-off round advanced to the group stage to join the 24 direct entrants. All losers in each round from associations with only play-off slots entered the AFC Cup group stage. ^[1] The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each region was determined by the AFC based on the association ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match. Teams from the same association could not be placed into the same play-off. ^[12]

Preliminary round 1

East Region

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Global	2–0	Tampines Rovers

Preliminary round 2

West Region

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Al-Wehdat	2–1	Bengaluru FC
Nasaf Qarshi	4–0	Al-Hidd

East Region

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Kitchee	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Hà Nội
Bangkok United	1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p)	Johor Darul Ta'zim
Sukhothai	5–0	Yadanarbon
Brisbane Roar	6–0	Global

Play-off round

West Region

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Al-Wahda	3–0	Al-Wehdat
Al-Fateh	1–0	Nasaf Qarshi
Esteghlal	0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)	Al-Sadd
El Jaish	0–0 (a.e.t.) (1–3 p)	Bunyodkor

East Region

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Ulsan Hyundai	1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)	Kitchee
Gamba Osaka	3–0	Johor Darul Ta'zim
Shanghai SIPG	3–0	Sukhothai
Shanghai Shenhua	0–2	Brisbane Roar

Group stage

Main article: 2017 AFC Champions League group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 13 December 2016, 16:00 MYT ( UTC+8 ), at the Hilton Petaling Jaya in Petaling Jaya , Malaysia . ^{[11] [27] [28]} The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four: four groups each in the West Region (Groups A–D) and the East Region (Groups E–H). Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group. ^[12] 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 of the knockout stage .

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 were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 10.5): [1] Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams; Goal difference in all group matches; Goals scored in all group matches; Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they met in the last round of the group; Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points); Team from the higher-ranked association.

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		AHL	EST	TAA	LOK
1	Al-Ahli	6	3	2	1	10	5	+5	11 [lower-alpha 1]	Advance to knockout stage		—	2–1	0–0	4–0
2	Esteghlal	6	3	2	1	10	5	+5	11 [lower-alpha 1]			1–1	—	3–0	2–0
3	Al-Taawoun	6	1	2	3	7	12	−5	5 [lower-alpha 2]			1–3	1–2	—	1–0
4	Lokomotiv Tashkent	6	1	2	3	7	12	−5	5 [lower-alpha 2]			2–0	1–1	4–4	—

Source: AFC
Notes:

1. Head-to-head results: Al-Ahli 2–1 Esteghlal, Esteghlal 1–1 Al-Ahli.
2. Head-to-head results: Al-Taawoun 1–0 Lokomotiv Tashkent, Lokomotiv Tashkent 4–4 Al-Taawoun.

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		LEK	ESK	FAT	JAZ
1	Lekhwiya	6	4	2	0	15	6	+9	14	Advance to knockout stage		—	2–1	4–1	3–0
2	Esteghlal Khuzestan	6	2	3	1	6	5	+1	9			1–1	—	1–0	1–1
3	Al-Fateh	6	1	3	2	7	9	−2	6			2–2	1–1	—	3–1
4	Al-Jazira	6	0	2	4	3	11	−8	2			1–3	0–1	0–0	—

Source: AFC

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		AIN	AHL	ZOB	BUN
1	Al-Ain	6	3	3	0	14	7	+7	12	Advance to knockout stage		—	2–2	1–1	3–0
2	Al-Ahli	6	3	2	1	10	7	+3	11			2–2	—	2–0	2–0
3	Zob Ahan	6	2	1	3	6	9	−3	7			0–3	1–2	—	2–1
4	Bunyodkor	6	1	0	5	5	12	−7	3			2–3	2–0	0–2	—

Source: AFC

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		HIL	PER	RAY	WAH
1	Al-Hilal	6	3	3	0	10	7	+3	12	Advance to knockout stage		—	0–0	2–1	1–0
2	Persepolis	6	2	3	1	9	8	+1	9			1–1	—	0–0	4–2
3	Al-Rayyan	6	2	1	3	10	13	−3	7			3–4	3–1	—	2–1
4	Al-Wahda	6	1	1	4	12	13	−1	4			2–2	2–3	5–1	—

Source: AFC

Group E

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		KSA	MUA	ULS	BRI
1	Kashima Antlers	6	4	0	2	13	5	+8	12	Advance to knockout stage		—	2–1	2–0	3–0
2	Muangthong United	6	3	2	1	7	3	+4	11			2–1	—	1–0	3–0
3	Ulsan Hyundai	6	2	1	3	9	9	0	7			0–4	0–0	—	6–0
4	Brisbane Roar	6	1	1	4	4	16	−12	4			2–1	0–0	2–3	—

Source: AFC

Group F

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		URA	SSI	SEO	WSW
1	Urawa Red Diamonds	6	4	0	2	18	7	+11	12 [lower-alpha 1]	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–0	5–2	6–1
2	Shanghai SIPG	6	4	0	2	15	9	+6	12 [lower-alpha 1]			3–2	—	4–2	5–1
3	FC Seoul	6	2	0	4	10	15	−5	6 [lower-alpha 2]			1–0	0–1	—	2–3
4	Western Sydney Wanderers	6	2	0	4	10	22	−12	6 [lower-alpha 2]			0–4	3–2	2–3	—

Source: AFC
Notes:

1. Head-to-head results: Shanghai SIPG 3–2 Urawa Red Diamonds, Urawa Red Diamonds 1–0 Shanghai SIPG (Urawa Red Diamonds won on away goals).
2. Head-to-head results: FC Seoul 2–3 Western Sydney Wanderers, Western Sydney Wanderers 2–3 FC Seoul (tied on head-to-head results, ranked on total goal difference).

Group G

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		KAW	GZE	SSB	EAS
1	Kawasaki Frontale	6	2	4	0	8	3	+5	10 [lower-alpha 1]	Advance to knockout stage		—	0–0	1–1	4–0
2	Guangzhou Evergrande	6	2	4	0	18	5	+13	10 [lower-alpha 1]			1–1	—	2–2	7–0
3	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	6	2	3	1	11	6	+5	9			0–1	2–2	—	5–0
4	Eastern	6	0	1	5	1	24	−23	1			1–1	0–6	0–1	—

Source: AFC
Notes:

1. Head-to-head results: Guangzhou Evergrande 1–1 Kawasaki Frontale, Kawasaki Frontale 0–0 Guangzhou Evergrande (Kawasaki Frontale won on away goals).

Group H

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		JIA	JEJ	ADE	GAM
1	Jiangsu Suning	6	5	0	1	9	3	+6	15	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–2	2–1	3–0
2	Jeju United	6	3	1	2	12	9	+3	10			0–1	—	1–3	2–0
3	Adelaide United	6	1	2	3	10	13	−3	5			0–1	3–3	—	0–3
4	Gamba Osaka	6	1	1	4	7	13	−6	4			0–1	1–4	3–3	—

Source: AFC

Knockout stage

Main article: 2017 AFC Champions League knockout stage

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. The away goals rule, extra time (away goals would not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 11.3). ^[1]

Bracket

The bracket was decided after the draw for the knockout stage, which was held on 6 June 2017, 16:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ^{[12] [26] [29] [30]}

	Round of 16						Quarter-finals						Semi-finals						Final
	Esteghlal	1	1	2
	Al-Ain	0	6	6
							Al-Ain	0	0	0
							Al-Hilal	0	3	3
	Esteghlal Khuzestan	1	1	2
	Al-Hilal	2	2	4
													Al-Hilal	4	2	6
	West Region
													Persepolis	0	2	2
	Persepolis	0	1	1
	Lekhwiya	0	0	0
							Persepolis	2	3	5
							Al-Ahli	2	1	3
	Al-Ahli	1	3	4
	Al-Ahli	1	1	2
																			Al-Hilal	1	0	1
																			Urawa Red Diamonds	1	1	2
	Shanghai SIPG	2	3	5
	Jiangsu Suning	1	2	3
							Shanghai SIPG (p)	4	1	5 (5)
							Guangzhou Evergrande	0	5	5 (4)
	Guangzhou Evergrande (a)	1	1	2
	Kashima Antlers	0	2	2
													Shanghai SIPG	1	0	1
	East Region
													Urawa Red Diamonds	1	1	2
	Muangthong United	1	1	2
	Kawasaki Frontale	3	4	7
							Kawasaki Frontale	3	1	4
							Urawa Red Diamonds	1	4	5
	Jeju United	2	0	2
	Urawa Red Diamonds (a.e.t.)	0	3	3

Round of 16

In the round of 16, the winners of one group played the runners-up of another group from the same region, with the matchups determined by the group stage draw, and the group winners hosting the second leg. ^[12]

West Region

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Esteghlal	2–6	Al-Ain	1–0	1–6
Al-Ahli	4–2	Al-Ahli	1–1	3–1
Esteghlal Khuzestan	2–4	Al-Hilal	1–2	1–2
Persepolis	1–0	Lekhwiya	0–0	1–0

East Region

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Muangthong United	2–7	Kawasaki Frontale	1–3	1–4
Guangzhou Evergrande	2–2 (a)	Kashima Antlers	1–0	1–2
Shanghai SIPG	5–3	Jiangsu Suning	2–1	3–2
Jeju United	2–3	Urawa Red Diamonds	2–0	0–3 (a.e.t.)

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 6 June 2017. In the quarter-finals, the four teams from the West Region played in two ties, and the four teams from the East Region played in two ties, with the matchups and order of legs decided by draw, without any seeding or country protection. ^{[26] [29] [30]}

West Region

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Al-Ain	0–3	Al-Hilal	0–0	0–3
Persepolis	5–3	Al-Ahli	2–2	3–1

East Region

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Shanghai SIPG	5–5 (5–4 p)	Guangzhou Evergrande	4–0	1–5 (a.e.t.)
Kawasaki Frontale	4–5	Urawa Red Diamonds	3–1	1–4

Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Region played each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Region played each other, with the order of legs determined by the quarter-final draw. ^[26]

West Region

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Al-Hilal	6–2	Persepolis	4–0	2–2

East Region

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Shanghai SIPG	1–2	Urawa Red Diamonds	1–1	0–1

Final

Main article: 2017 AFC Champions League Final

In the final, the two semi-final winners played each other, with the order of legs (first leg hosted by team from the West Region, second leg hosted by team from the East Region) reversed from the previous season's final. ^[26]

18 November 2017 (2017-11-18)

19:15  UTC+3

Al-Hilal	1–1	Urawa Red Diamonds
Kharbin 37'	Report	Rafael Silva 7'

King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh

Attendance: 59,136

Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

25 November 2017 (2017-11-25)

19:15  UTC+9

Urawa Red Diamonds	1–0	Al-Hilal
Rafael Silva 88'	Report

Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama

Attendance: 57,727

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

Urawa Red Diamonds won 2–1 on aggregate.

Awards

Main awards

Award	Player	Team
Most Valuable Player	Yōsuke Kashiwagi [31]	Urawa Red Diamonds
Top Goalscorer	Omar Kharbin [32]	Al-Hilal
Fair Play Award	—	Urawa Red Diamonds

All-Star Squad

Source: ^[33]

Position	Player	Team
Goalkeeper	Abdullah Al-Mayouf	Al-Hilal
	Shusaku Nishikawa	Urawa Red Diamonds
Defenders	Motaz Hawsawi	Al-Ahli
	Yuki Abe	Urawa Red Diamonds
	Osama Hawsawi	Al-Hilal
	Yasser Al-Shahrani	Al-Hilal
	Mohammed Al-Breik	Al-Hilal
Midfielders	Omar Abdulrahman	Al-Ain
	Kengo Nakamura	Kawasaki Frontale
	Oscar	Shanghai SIPG
	Yōsuke Kashiwagi	Urawa Red Diamonds
	Salman Al-Faraj	Al-Hilal
	Ricardo Goulart	Guangzhou Evergrande
	Zheng Zhi	Guangzhou Evergrande
	Kazuki Nagasawa	Urawa Red Diamonds
Forwards	Rafael Silva	Urawa Red Diamonds
	Hulk	Shanghai SIPG
	Omar Kharbin	Al-Hilal
	Yu Kobayashi	Kawasaki Frontale
	Carlos Eduardo	Al-Hilal
	Alan	Guangzhou Evergrande
	Wu Lei	Shanghai SIPG
	Godwin Mensha	Persepolis

Opta Best XI

Source: ^[34]

Position	Player	Team
Goalkeeper	Abdullah Al-Mayouf	Al-Hilal
Defenders	Mohammed Al-Breik	Al-Hilal
	Tomoaki Makino	Urawa Red Diamonds
	Shi Ke	Shanghai SIPG
	Yasser Al-Shahrani	Al-Hilal
Midfielders	Ricardo Goulart	Guangzhou Evergrande
	Carlos Eduardo	Al-Hilal
	Paulinho	Guangzhou Evergrande
Forwards	Omar Kharbin	Al-Hilal
	Rafael Silva	Urawa Red Diamonds
	Hulk	Shanghai SIPG

Top scorers

  Team eliminated / inactive for this round.

Rank	Player	Team	MD1	MD2	MD3	MD4	MD5	MD6	2R1	2R2	QF1	QF2	SF1	SF2	F1	F2	Total
1	Omar Kharbin	Al-Hilal			1			2		1			3	2	1		10
2	Hulk	Shanghai SIPG	1	1	1		1		1	1	1	1	1				9
	Rafael Silva	Urawa Red Diamonds	1		1	1	2					1		1	1	1
4	Omar Abdulrahman	Al-Ain		2		1	1	1		2							7
	Alan	Guangzhou Evergrande	1	1	1		2					2
	Carlos Eduardo	Al-Hilal	1	1		1			1			3
	Ricardo Goulart	Guangzhou Evergrande	1	1				2				3
	Mehdi Taremi	Persepolis		2	1			3				1
9	Yu Kobayashi	Kawasaki Frontale	1		1				1	1	2						6
	Kaveh Rezaei	Esteghlal		1		1	1	1	1	1

Note: Goals scored in the qualifying play-offs are not counted when determining top scorer (Regulations Article 64.4). ^[1]

Source: AFC ^[35]

Player of the week awards

Matchday	Toyota Player of the Week
	Player	Team
Group stage
Matchday 1 [36]	Youssef El-Arabi	Lekhwiya
Matchday 2 [37]	Kim In-sung	Ulsan Hyundai
Matchday 3 [38]	Yun Il-lok	FC Seoul
Matchday 4 [39]	Ko Seung-beom	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Matchday 5 [40]	Khalid Eisa	Al-Ain
Matchday 6 [41]	Nicolás Milesi	Al-Hilal
Knockout stage
Round of 16 1st leg [42]	Teerasil Dangda	Muangthong United
Round of 16 2nd leg [43]	Omar Abdulrahman	Al-Ain
Quarter-finals 1st leg [44]	Yu Kobayashi	Kawasaki Frontale
Quarter-finals 2nd leg [45]	Carlos Eduardo	Al-Hilal
Semi-finals 1st leg [46]	Omar Kharbin	Al-Hilal
Semi-finals 2nd leg [47]	Godwin Mensha	Persepolis
Final [48]	Mohammed Al-Breik	Al-Hilal

See also

• 2017 AFC Cup
• 2017 FIFA Club World Cup

References

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External links

• AFC Champions League , the-AFC.com
• AFC Champions League 2017, stats.the-AFC.com