2020 AFC Champions League group stage

The 2020 AFC Champions League group stage was played from 10 February to 4 December 2020. ^[1] A total of 32 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 16 places in the knockout stage of the 2020 AFC Champions League. ^[2]

The competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia after matchday 3 on 4 March 2020. ^[3] On 9 July 2020, the AFC announced that it would restart on 14 September 2020. ^[4] All matches after restart were played in Qatar.

Draw

The draw for the group stage was held on 10 December 2019, 16:30 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ^[5] 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.

The mechanism of the draw was as follows: ^[6]

• For the West Region, there was no associations draw due to country protection. A draw was held for each of the four associations with more than one direct entrant (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran) to determine for each team their group positions:
  • The three direct entrants of the United Arab Emirates were drawn to positions A1, B2, or C3, while the play-off winners West 1 (which their play-off team may advance from) were allocated to position D4.
  • The three direct entrants of Saudi Arabia were drawn to positions B1, C2, or D3, while the play-off winners West 2 (which their play-off team may advance from) were allocated to position A4.
  • The two direct entrants of Qatar were drawn to positions C1 or D2, while the play-off winners West 3 and 4 (which their play-off teams may advance from) were drawn to positions A3 or B4.
  • The two direct entrants of Iran were drawn to positions D1 or C4.
  • The direct entrants of Uzbekistan and Iraq were allocated to positions B3 and A2 respectively.
• For the East Region, a draw was held for the two associations with three direct entrants (South Korea, China) to determine the order of associations. After the associations draw, a draw was held for each of the four associations with more than one direct entrant (South Korea, China, Japan, Australia) to determine for each team their group positions:
  • The three direct entrants of the first association drawn (South Korea or China) were drawn to positions E1, F2, or G3, while the play-off winners East 1 or 2 (which their play-off team may advance from) were allocated to position H4.
  • The three direct entrants of the second association drawn (South Korea or China) were drawn to positions F1, G2, or H3, while the play-off winners East 1 or 2 (which their play-off team may advance from) were allocated to position E4.
  • The two direct entrants of Japan were drawn to positions G1 or H2, while the play-off winners East 3 and 4 (which their play-off teams may advance from) were either allocated to F4 and E3 respectively (if South Korea were the first association drawn), or drawn to positions E3 or F4 (if China were the first association drawn).
  • The two direct entrants of Australia were either drawn to positions H1 or F3 (if South Korea were the first association drawn, or if China were the first association drawn and the play-off winners East 4 were drawn to position E3), or positions H1 or E2 (if China were the first association drawn and the play-off winners East 3 were drawn to position E3).
  • The direct entrants of Thailand and Malaysia were allocated to either positions G4 and E2 (if South Korea were the first association drawn), positions F3 and G4 (if China were the first association drawn and the play-off winners East 4 were drawn to position E3), or positions E2 and G4 (if China were the first association drawn and the play-off winners East 3 were drawn to position E3) respectively.

The following 32 teams entered into the group stage draw, which included the 24 direct entrants and the eight winners of the play-off round of the qualifying play-offs, whose identity was not known at the time of the draw.

Region	Groups	Teams
West Region	A–D	Sharjah	Shabab Al-Ahli	Al-Wahda	Al-Ain (Winners of Play-off West 1)
		Al-Nassr	Al-Taawoun	Al-Hilal	Al-Ahli (Winners of Play-off West 2)
		Al-Sadd	Al-Duhail	Pakhtakor	Al-Shorta
		Persepolis	Sepahan	Esteghlal (Winners of Play-off West 4)	Shahr Khodro (Winners of Play-off West 3)
East Region	E–H	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	Ulsan Hyundai	FC Seoul (Winners of Play-off East 1)
		Guangzhou Evergrande	Shanghai Shenhua	Beijing FC	Shanghai SIPG (Winners of Play-off East 2)
		Yokohama F. Marinos	Vissel Kobe [note 1]	FC Tokyo (Winners of Play-off East 3)	Chiangrai United
		Perth Glory	Sydney FC	Melbourne Victory (Winners of Play-off East 4)	Johor Darul Ta'zim

Format

In the group stage, each group was played on a double round-robin basis, with matches played home-and-away before the suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but moved to centralised venues after restart. 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): ^[2]

1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
4. Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;(this tiebreaker was removed since the matches were played in centralised venues after restart)
5. If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
6. Goal difference in all group matches;
7. Goals scored in all group matches;
8. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams playing each other in the last round of the group were tied;
9. 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);
10. Association ranking.

Schedule

The original schedule of each match day, as planned before the COVID-19 pandemic, was as follows. ^[7]

• Matches in the West Region were played on Mondays and Tuesdays. Two groups were played on each day, with the following groups being played on Mondays:
  • Matchdays 1 and 2: Groups A and B
  • Matchday 3: Groups A and C
  • Matchday 4: Groups B and D
  • Matchdays 5 and 6: Groups C and D
• Matches in the East Region were played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Two groups were played on each day, with the following groups being played on Tuesdays:
  • Matchdays 1 and 2: Groups E and F
  • Matchday 3: Groups E and G
  • Matchday 4: Groups F and H
  • Matchdays 5 and 6: Groups G and H

Matchday	Original dates	Original scheduled matches
Matchday 1	10–12 February 2020 (12 matches played, 4 postponed)	Team 1 vs. Team 4, Team 3 vs. Team 2
Matchday 2	17–19 February 2020 (13 matches played, 3 postponed)	Team 4 vs. Team 3, Team 2 vs. Team 1
Matchday 3	2–4 March 2020 (2 matches played, 14 postponed)	Team 4 vs. Team 2, Team 1 vs. Team 3
Matchday 4	6–8 April 2020 (all 16 matches postponed)	Team 2 vs. Team 4, Team 3 vs. Team 1
Matchday 5	20–22 April 2020 (all 16 matches postponed)	Team 4 vs. Team 1, Team 2 vs. Team 3
Matchday 6	4–6 May 2020 (all 16 matches postponed)	Team 1 vs. Team 2, Team 3 vs. Team 4

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia, the Australian federal government banned foreigners travelling from China, and Football Federation Australia told the AFC that Australia could no longer host matches against Chinese teams. ^[8] The AFC held an emergency meeting on 4 February 2020 to determine plans for the tournament, including but not limited to rescheduling of matches in the East Region. ^[9] After the meeting, the AFC decided to postpone matches involving Chinese clubs from the first three match days except for Chiangrai United versus Beijing FC: ^{[10] [11]}

• Group E: FC Seoul v Beijing FC (from 11 February to 28 April), Melbourne Victory v Beijing FC (from 3 March to 28 May)
• Group F: Perth Glory v Shanghai Shenhua (from 11 February to 28 April), Ulsan Hyundai v Shanghai Shenhua (from 18 February to 19 May), FC Tokyo v Shanghai Shenhua (from 4 March to 27 May)
• Group G: Suwon Samsung Bluewings v Guangzhou Evergrande (from 12 February to 29 April), Johor Darul Ta'zim v Guangzhou Evergrande (from 19 February to 20 May), Vissel Kobe v Guangzhou Evergrande (from 3 March to 26 May)
• Group H: Sydney FC v Shanghai SIPG (from 12 February to 29 April), Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors v Shanghai SIPG (from 19 February to 20 May), Yokohama F. Marinos v Shanghai SIPG (from 4 March to 27 May)

the following matches were postponed to a later date between late February and early March, prior to AFC's announcement to postpone all matches: ^{[12] [13]}

• Group A: Al-Ahli v Al-Shorta and Al-Wahda v Esteghlal (2 March)
• Group B: Al-Hilal v Pakhtakor and Shabab Al-Ahli v Shahr Khodro (3 March)
• Group C: Persepolis v Al-Taawoun and Al-Duhail v Sharjah (2 March)
• Group D: Al-Ain v Al-Sadd and Sepahan v Al-Nassr (3 March), Al-Nassr v Sepahan (6 April)
• Group E: FC Seoul v Chiangrai United (3 March)
• Group F: Perth Glory v Ulsan Hyundai (4 March, later postponed to 18 March)

After meetings with representatives of the member associations from the West Region held on 7–8 March 2020, it was agreed that all West Region group stage matches on matchdays 4–6 would be postponed to new dates yet to be confirmed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia. ^[14]

After a meeting with representatives of the member associations from the East Region held on 2 March 2020, it was agreed that group stage matches on matchdays 3–6 which could not be played would be moved to 19–20 May, 26–27 May, 16–17 June and 23–24 June. ^[15]

The AFC announced on 14 April 2020 that all matches scheduled for May and June would be postponed until further notice. ^[3] Only 27 group stage matches out of the 96 scheduled had been played by then.

On 9 July 2020, the AFC announced the new schedule for the remaining matches, with all matches played at centralised venues. The West Region matches postponed from matchdays 3–6 would be played on 14–15, 17–18, 20–21 and 23–24 September, and the East Region matches postponed from matchdays 1–6 would be played on 16–17, 19–20, 22–23, 25–26, 28–29 October and 31 October – 1 November. ^{[4] [16]} On 10 September 2020, the AFC announced that East Region group stage matches were rescheduled to be played on 18–19, 21–22, 24–25, 27–28 November, 30 November – 1 December and 3–4 December. ^[17]

Matchday	West Region	East Region
Matchday 1	—	18–19 November 2020 (3 matches)
Matchday 2	—	21–22 November 2020 (4 matches)
Matchday 3	14–15 September 2020	24–25 November 2020
Matchday 4	17–18 September 2020	27–28 November 2020 (6 matches)
Matchday 5	20–21 September 2020	30 November – 1 December 2020
Matchday 6	23–24 September 2020	3–4 December 2020

Centralised venues after restart

On 16 July 2020, the AFC announced that Qatar would host all West Region matches after restart. ^[18] On 27 July 2020, the AFC announced that Malaysia would host the East Region matches of Groups G and H after restart. ^[19] However, on 9 October 2020, the AFC announced that following an agreement with Qatar Football Association, all East Region matches after restart would also be played in Qatar. ^[20]

The following centralised venues in Qatar were used: ^[21]

• Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah (1 match of Group A, 7 matches of Group B, 2 matches of Group G, 6 matches of Group H)
• Education City Stadium, Doha (7 matches of Group C, 1 match of Group D, 2 matches of Group E, 9 matches of Group F)
• Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha (1 match of Group C, 7 matches of Group D, 7 matches of Group E, 1 match of Group F)
• Khalifa International Stadium, Doha (7 matches of Group A, 1 match of Group B, 7 matches of Group G, 3 matches of Group H)

Groups

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		AHL	EST	SHO	WAH
1	Al-Ahli	4	2	0	2	4	6	−2	6	Advance to knockout stage		—	2–1	1–0	20 Sep
2	Esteghlal	4	1	2	1	6	4	+2	5			3–0	—	1–1	17 Sep
3	Al-Shorta	4	1	2	1	4	4	0	5			2–1	1–1	—	0–1
4	Al-Wahda	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Withdrew [a]		1–1	14 Sep	23 Sep	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:

1. Al-Wahda were unable to travel to Qatar to play the final four matches of the group stage due to several team members testing positive for COVID-19. ^[22] They were considered to have withdrawn from the competition, and all previous matches played by them shall be considered "null and void" and would not be considered in determining the final group rankings. ^[23]

10 February 2020 (2020-02-10) ^{[note 2]}

17:30  UTC+3

Al-Shorta	1–1	Esteghlal
Faez 48' (pen.)	Live Report Stats Report	Kadhim 24' (o.g.)

Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil ^{[note 3]}

Attendance: 6,750

Referee: Ahmed Al-Ali (Jordan)

10 February 2020 (2020-02-10)

19:35  UTC+4

Al-Wahda	Voided (1–1)	Al-Ahli
Rim Chang-woo 90'	Live Report Stats Report	Asiri 60'

Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Attendance: 7,124

Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

---

17 February 2020 (2020-02-17)

17:00  UTC+3

Al-Shorta	Voided (0–1)	Al-Wahda
	Live Report Stats Report	M'Poku 88'

Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil ^{[note 3]}

Attendance: 4,327

Referee: Nazmi Nasaruddin (Malaysia)

17 February 2020 (2020-02-17)

18:30  UTC+3

Al-Ahli	2–1	Esteghlal
Al-Moasher 17' (pen.), 29'	Live Report Stats Report	Motahari 22'

Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, Kuwait City (Kuwait) ^{[note 4]}

Attendance: 6,740

Referee: Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)

---

14 September 2020 (2020-09-14)

18:00  UTC+3

Al-Ahli	1–0	Al-Shorta
Marin 87'	Live Report Stats Report

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)

14 September 2020 (2020-09-14)

21:00  UTC+3

Al-Wahda	Cancelled	Esteghlal
	Live Report Stats Report

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

---

17 September 2020 (2020-09-17)

18:00  UTC+3

Al-Shorta	2–1	Al-Ahli
Natiq 14' Fayyadh 65'	Live Report Stats Report	Al-Majhad 56'

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Sherzod Kasimov (Uzbekistan)

17 September 2020 (2020-09-17)

21:00  UTC+3

Esteghlal	Cancelled	Al-Wahda
	Live Report Stats Report

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

---

20 September 2020 (2020-09-20)

18:00  UTC+3

Al-Ahli	Cancelled	Al-Wahda
	Live Report Stats Report

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

20 September 2020 (2020-09-20) ^{[note 2]}

21:00  UTC+3

Esteghlal	1–1	Al-Shorta
Motahari 68'	Live Report Stats Report	Fayyadh 26'

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)

---

23 September 2020 (2020-09-23)

18:00  UTC+3

Al-Wahda	Cancelled	Al-Shorta
	Live Report Stats Report

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

23 September 2020 (2020-09-23)

18:00  UTC+3

Esteghlal	3–0	Al-Ahli
Ghayedi 29' Karimi 38' Diabaté 54'	Live Report Stats Report

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 0

Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		PAK	SAH	SHK	HIL
1	Pakhtakor	4	3	1	0	6	1	+5	10	Advance to knockout stage		—	2–1	3–0	0–0
2	Shabab Al-Ahli	4	2	1	1	3	2	+1	7			0–0	—	1–0	1–2
3	Shahr Khodro	4	0	0	4	0	6	−6	0			0–1	0–1	—	0–0
4	Al-Hilal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Withdrew [a]		2–1	23 Sep	2–0	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:

1. Al-Hilal failed to name the required 13 players and were unable to play their final match of the group stage against Shabab Al-Ahli due to them having only 11 players left with the remaining team members testing positive for COVID-19. They were considered to have withdrawn from the competition, and all previous matches played by them shall be considered "null and void" and would not be considered in determining the final group rankings. ^[31]

10 February 2020 (2020-02-10)

16:00  UTC+5

Pakhtakor	2–1	Shabab Al-Ahli
Masharipov 18' Ćeran 70'	Live Report Stats Report	Conde 67'

Pakhtakor Central Stadium, Tashkent

Attendance: 10,476

Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

10 February 2020 (2020-02-10)

18:40  UTC+4

Al-Hilal	Voided (2–0)	Shahr Khodro
Carrillo 45' Gomis 69'	Live Report Stats Report

Zabeel Stadium, Dubai (United Arab Emirates) ^{[note 4]}

Attendance: 3,801

Referee: Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)

---

17 February 2020 (2020-02-17) ^{[note 2]}

16:00  UTC+5

Pakhtakor	3–0	Shahr Khodro
Sergeev 56', 59' Azamov 87'	Live Report Stats Report

Pakhtakor Central Stadium, Tashkent

Attendance: 19,420

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

17 February 2020 (2020-02-17)

17:30  UTC+4

Shabab Al-Ahli	Voided (1–2)	Al-Hilal
Jaber 24'	Live Report Stats Report	Gomis 36', 72'

Rashid Stadium, Dubai

Attendance: 6,240

Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)

---

14 September 2020 (2020-09-14) ^{[note 2]}

18:00  UTC+3

Shabab Al-Ahli	1–0	Shahr Khodro
Abdullah 75'	Live Report Stats Report

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 0

Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)

14 September 2020 (2020-09-14)

21:00  UTC+3

Al-Hilal	Voided (2–1)	Pakhtakor
Giovinco 45+2' Bahebri 90+7'	Live Report Stats Report	Derdiyok 70'

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 0

Referee: Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)

---

17 September 2020 (2020-09-17) ^{[note 2]}

18:00  UTC+3

Shahr Khodro	0–1	Shabab Al-Ahli
	Live Report Stats Report	Conde 83'

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 0

Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)

17 September 2020 (2020-09-17)

21:00  UTC+3

Pakhtakor	Voided (0–0)	Al-Hilal
	Live Report Stats Report

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 0

Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)

---

20 September 2020 (2020-09-20)

18:00  UTC+3

Shahr Khodro	Voided (0–0)	Al-Hilal
	Live Report Stats Report

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 0

Referee: Ahmed Al-Ali (Jordan)

20 September 2020 (2020-09-20)

21:00  UTC+3

Shabab Al-Ahli	0–0	Pakhtakor
	Live Report Stats Report

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 0

Referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)

---

23 September 2020 (2020-09-23)

21:00  UTC+3

Al-Hilal	Cancelled	Shabab Al-Ahli
	Live Report Stats Report

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

23 September 2020 (2020-09-23) ^{[note 2]}

21:00  UTC+3

Shahr Khodro	0–1	Pakhtakor
	Live Report Stats Report	Masharipov 65'

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 0

Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		PRS	TAW	DUH	SHJ
1	Persepolis	6	3	1	2	8	5	+3	10	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–0	0–1	4–0
2	Al-Taawoun	6	3	0	3	4	8	−4	9 [a]			0–1	—	2–0	0–6
3	Al-Duhail	6	3	0	3	7	8	−1	9 [a]			2–0	0–1	—	2–1
4	Sharjah	6	2	1	3	13	11	+2	7			2–2	0–1	4–2	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:

1. Head-to-head points: Al-Taawoun 6, Al-Duhail 0.

11 February 2020 (2020-02-11)

18:15  UTC+3

Al-Duhail	2–0	Persepolis
Mandžukić 5' Edmilson 13'	Live Report Stats Report

Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 3,780

Referee: Aziz Asimov (Uzbekistan)

11 February 2020 (2020-02-11)

18:55  UTC+4

Sharjah	0–1	Al-Taawoun
	Live Report Stats Report	Darwish 34'

Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah

Attendance: 8,523

Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

---

18 February 2020 (2020-02-18) ^{[note 2]}

19:35  UTC+4

Sharjah	2–2	Persepolis
Khalfan 25' Mendes 45+1'	Live Report Stats Report	Alipour 9', 27'

Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah

Attendance: 5,200

Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)

18 February 2020 (2020-02-18)

18:35  UTC+3

Al-Taawoun	2–0	Al-Duhail
Al-Sahlawi 34' Al-Swat 55'	Live Report Stats Report

King Abdullah Sport City Stadium, Buraidah

Attendance: 15,346

Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

---

15 September 2020 (2020-09-15)

18:00  UTC+3

Al-Duhail	2–1	Sharjah
Ali 41' Rezaeian 51'	Live Report Stats Report	Coronado 58' (pen.)

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)

15 September 2020 (2020-09-15)

21:00  UTC+3

Persepolis	1–0	Al-Taawoun
Khalilzadeh 83'	Live Report Stats Report

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 10

Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

---

18 September 2020 (2020-09-18)

18:00  UTC+3

Sharjah	4–2	Al-Duhail
Ba Wazir 18' Suroor 62' Coronado 75' (pen.) Caio 90+1'	Live Report Stats Report	Al-Ahrak 12' Ali 70'

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Omar Al-Yaqoubi (Oman)

18 September 2020 (2020-09-18)

21:00  UTC+3

Al-Taawoun	0–1	Persepolis
	Live Report Stats Report	Rasan 48' (pen.)

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 10

Referee: Mohanad Qasim (Iraq)

---

21 September 2020 (2020-09-21)

18:00  UTC+3

Persepolis	0–1	Al-Duhail
	Live Report Stats Report	Ali 60' (pen.)

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

21 September 2020 (2020-09-21)

21:00  UTC+3

Al-Taawoun	0–6	Sharjah
	Live Report Stats Report	Rashid 45+1' Welliton 49', 57', 61' Abdulbasit 54' Caio 68'

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 10

Referee: Kim Dae-yong (South Korea)

---

24 September 2020 (2020-09-24)

21:00  UTC+3

Al-Duhail	0–1	Al-Taawoun
	Live Report Stats Report	Duke 86'

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 10

Referee: Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob (Malaysia)

24 September 2020 (2020-09-24) ^{[note 2]}

21:00  UTC+3

Persepolis	4–0	Sharjah
Khalilzadeh 2' Alekasir 41' Amiri 44' Abdi 90+1'	Live Report Stats Report

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		NAS	SAD	SEP	AIN
1	Al-Nassr	6	3	2	1	9	5	+4	11	Advance to knockout stage		—	2–2	2–0	0–1
2	Al-Sadd	6	2	3	1	14	8	+6	9			1–1	—	3–0	4–0
3	Sepahan	6	2	1	3	6	8	−2	7			0–2	2–1	—	0–0
4	Al-Ain	6	1	2	3	5	13	−8	5			1–2	3–3	0–4	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

11 February 2020 (2020-02-11) ^{[note 2]}

18:50  UTC+4

Al-Ain	0–4	Sepahan
	Live Report Stats Report	Mohebi 38' Kiros 46' Rafiei 52' Tayyebi 78'

Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain

Attendance: 7,028

Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)

11 February 2020 (2020-02-11)

18:15  UTC+3

Al-Nassr	2–2	Al-Sadd
Hamdallah 7' Al-Obaid 53'	Live Report Stats Report	Al-Amri 9' (o.g.) Al-Haydos 48'

Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh

Attendance: 11,828

Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)

---

18 February 2020 (2020-02-18)

18:55  UTC+4

Al-Ain	1–2	Al-Nassr
Yaisien 18'	Live Report Stats Report	Ali 57' Hamdallah 80'

Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain

Attendance: 7,326

Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)

18 February 2020 (2020-02-18)

18:35  UTC+3

Al-Sadd	3–0	Sepahan
Afif 51' Al-Haydos 72', 78'	Live Report Stats Report

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 5,843

Referee: Aziz Asimov (Uzbekistan)

---

15 September 2020 (2020-09-15)

18:00  UTC+3

Al-Ain	3–3	Al-Sadd
Laba 5' Islamkhan 38' Khoukhi 67' (o.g.)	Live Report Stats Report	Afif 35' Cazorla 55' Bounedjah 60'

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

15 September 2020 (2020-09-15)

21:00  UTC+3

Sepahan	0–2	Al-Nassr
	Live Report Stats Report	Hamdallah 29', 48'

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

---

18 September 2020 (2020-09-18)

18:00  UTC+3

Al-Sadd	4–0	Al-Ain
Bounedjah 26', 70' Afif 56' Tabata 86'	Live Report Stats Report

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob (Malaysia)

18 September 2020 (2020-09-18)

21:00  UTC+3

Al-Nassr	2–0	Sepahan
Madu 32' Hamdallah 41'	Live Report Stats Report

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

---

21 September 2020 (2020-09-21)

18:00  UTC+3

Al-Sadd	1–1	Al-Nassr
Bounedjah 87'	Live Report Stats Report	Al-Ghannam 22'

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Masoud Tufayelieh (Syria)

21 September 2020 (2020-09-21) ^{[note 2]}

21:00  UTC+3

Sepahan	0–0	Al-Ain
	Live Report Stats Report

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Ali Shaban (Kuwait)

---

24 September 2020 (2020-09-24)

18:00  UTC+3

Sepahan	2–1	Al-Sadd
Mirzaei 14' Shahbazzadeh 53'	Live Report Stats Report	Ali 82'

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Sivakorn Pu-udom (Thailand)

24 September 2020 (2020-09-24)

18:00  UTC+3

Al-Nassr	0–1	Al-Ain
	Live Report Stats Report	Laba 19'

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Hussein Abo Yehia (Lebanon)

Group E

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		BEI	MVC	SEO	CHI
1	Beijing Guoan	6	5	1	0	12	4	+8	16	Advance to knockout stage		—	3–1	3–1	1–1
2	Melbourne Victory	6	2	1	3	6	9	−3	7			0–2	—	2–1	1–0
3	FC Seoul	6	2	0	4	10	9	+1	6			1–2	1–0	—	5–0
4	Chiangrai United	6	1	2	3	5	11	−6	5			0–1	2–2	2–1	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

11 February 2020 (2020-02-11)

19:35  UTC+11

Melbourne Victory	1–0	Chiangrai United
Toivonen 25' (pen.)	Live Report Stats Report

AAMI Park, Melbourne

Attendance: 4,156

Referee: Turki Al-Khudhayr (Saudi Arabia)

---

18 February 2020 (2020-02-18)

19:30  UTC+9

FC Seoul	1–0	Melbourne Victory
Park Chu-young 8'	Live Report Stats Report

Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul

Attendance: 5,229

Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

18 February 2020 (2020-02-18) ^{[note 5]}

19:00  UTC+7

Chiangrai United	0–1	Beijing FC
	Live Report Stats Report	Wang Ziming 23'

Singha Stadium, Chiang Rai

Attendance: 6,035

Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)

---

21 November 2020 (2020-11-21) ^{[note 5]}

13:00  UTC+3

FC Seoul	1–2	Beijing FC
Park Chu-young 66' (pen.)	Live Report Stats Report	Fernando 8' Alan 60'

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Turki Al-Khudhayr (Saudi Arabia)

---

24 November 2020 (2020-11-24) ^{[note 5]}

13:00  UTC+3

Beijing FC	3–1	Melbourne Victory
Augusto 22' Alan 34' Wang Ziming 74'	Live Report Stats Report	Iannucci 78'

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Saoud Al-Athbah (Qatar)

24 November 2020 (2020-11-24)

16:00  UTC+3

FC Seoul	5–0	Chiangrai United
Han Seung-gyu 20' Jung Han-min 54' Yun Ju-tae 67', 71' Lee In-gyu 90+2'	Live Report Stats Report

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Mooud Bonyadifar (Iran)

---

27 November 2020 (2020-11-27) ^{[note 5]}

13:00  UTC+3

Melbourne Victory	0–2	Beijing FC
	Live Report Stats Report	Viera 9' Zhang Yuning 35'

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Mohd Amirul Izwan Yaacob (Malaysia)

27 November 2020 (2020-11-27)

16:00  UTC+3

Chiangrai United	2–1	FC Seoul
Bill 40', 89'	Live Report Stats Report	Park Chu-young 59'

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Ali Shaban (Kuwait)

---

30 November 2020 (2020-11-30) ^{[note 5]}

13:00  UTC+3

Beijing FC	3–1	FC Seoul
Viera 23' Augusto 43' Zhang Yuning 90+3'	Live Report Stats Report	Yun Ju-tae 89'

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)

30 November 2020 (2020-11-30)

16:00  UTC+3

Chiangrai United	2–2	Melbourne Victory
Sivakorn 47' Verzura 82'	Live Report Stats Report	Brimmer 8' (pen.) Folami 27'

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

---

3 December 2020 (2020-12-03)

16:00  UTC+3

Melbourne Victory	2–1	FC Seoul
Rojas 5' Brimmer 23' (pen.)	Live Report Stats Report	Hwang Hyun-soo 64'

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

3 December 2020 (2020-12-03)

16:00  UTC+3

Beijing FC	1–1	Chiangrai United
Alan 76'	Live Report Stats Report	Ekanit 55'

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Hussein Abo Yehia (Lebanon)

Group F

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ULS	TOK	SSH	PRG
1	Ulsan Hyundai	6	5	1	0	14	5	+9	16	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–1	3–1	2–0
2	FC Tokyo	6	3	1	2	6	5	+1	10			1–2	—	0–1	1–0
3	Shanghai Shenhua	6	2	1	3	9	13	−4	7			1–4	1–2	—	3–3
4	Perth Glory	6	0	1	5	5	11	−6	1			1–2	0–1	1–2	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

11 February 2020 (2020-02-11)

19:30  UTC+9

Ulsan Hyundai	1–1	FC Tokyo
Adaílton 82' (o.g.)	Live Report Stats Report	Oliveira 64'

Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium, Ulsan

Attendance: 3,350

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

---

18 February 2020 (2020-02-18)

19:00  UTC+9

FC Tokyo	1–0	Perth Glory
Leandro 82'	Live Report Stats Report

Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo

Attendance: 7,755

Referee: Yaqoob Abdul Baki (Oman)

---

18 November 2020 (2020-11-18)

13:00  UTC+3

Perth Glory	1–2	Shanghai Shenhua
Aspropotamitis 81'	Live Report Stats Report	Peng Xinli 7' Yu Hanchao 38'

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)

---

21 November 2020 (2020-11-21) ^{[note 5]}

16:00  UTC+3

Ulsan Hyundai	3–1	Shanghai Shenhua
Yoon Bit-garam 19', 41' Kim Kee-hee 63'	Live Report Stats Report	Zhu Jianrong 89'

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar)

---

24 November 2020 (2020-11-24)

13:00  UTC+3

FC Tokyo	0–1	Shanghai Shenhua
	Live Report Stats Report	Yu Hanchao 72' (pen.)

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

24 November 2020 (2020-11-24) ^{[note 6]}

16:00  UTC+3

Perth Glory	1–2	Ulsan Hyundai
Stynes 71'	Live Report Stats Report	Kim In-sung 89' Júnior 90+3'

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Nazmi Nasaruddin (Malaysia)

---

27 November 2020 (2020-11-27) ^{[note 6]}

13:00  UTC+3

Ulsan Hyundai	2–0	Perth Glory
Kim In-sung 87' Júnior 89'	Live Report Stats Report

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Sivakorn Pu-udom (Thailand)

27 November 2020 (2020-11-27)

16:00  UTC+3

Shanghai Shenhua	1–2	FC Tokyo
Moreno 86'	Live Report Stats Report	Leandro 61' Abe 82'

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Mohanad Qasim (Iraq)

---

30 November 2020 (2020-11-30)

13:00  UTC+3

FC Tokyo	1–2	Ulsan Hyundai
Nagai 1'	Live Report Stats Report	Yoon Bit-garam 44', 85'

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar)

30 November 2020 (2020-11-30)

16:00  UTC+3

Shanghai Shenhua	3–3	Perth Glory
Moreno 62', 72' Yu Hanchao 73'	Live Report Stats Report	Fornaroli 45+2' Armiento 58' Kilkenny 86' (pen.)

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

---

3 December 2020 (2020-12-03)

13:00  UTC+3

Perth Glory	0–1	FC Tokyo
	Live Report Stats Report	Adaílton 8'

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)

3 December 2020 (2020-12-03) ^{[note 5]}

13:00  UTC+3

Shanghai Shenhua	1–4	Ulsan Hyundai
Bi Jinhao 60'	Live Report Stats Report	Park Jeong-in 3' Lee Sang-heon 24' Johnsen 75' (pen.), 90'

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)

Group G

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		VIS	SUW	GZE	JDT
1	Vissel Kobe	4	2	0	2	4	5	−1	6	Advance to knockout stage		—	0–2	0–2	5–1
2	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	4	1	2	1	3	2	+1	5			0–1	—	0–0	25 Nov
3	Guangzhou Evergrande	4	1	2	1	4	4	0	5			1–3	1–1	—	4 Dec
4	Johor Darul Ta'zim	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Withdrew [a]		1 Dec	2–1	19 Nov	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:

1. Johor Darul Ta'zim were unable to travel to Qatar to play the final four matches of the group stage due to the COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions after they were denied permission to travel by the Malaysian government. ^[36] They were considered to have withdrawn from the competition, and all previous matches played by them shall be considered "null and void" and would not be considered in determining the final group rankings. ^[37]

12 February 2020 (2020-02-12)

19:00  UTC+9

Vissel Kobe	Voided (5–1)	Johor Darul Ta'zim
Ogawa 13', 58', 72' Furuhashi 28' Douglas 65'	Live Report Stats Report	Safawi 27' (pen.)

Noevir Stadium Kobe, Kobe

Attendance: 7,256

Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

---

19 February 2020 (2020-02-19)

19:30  UTC+9

Suwon Samsung Bluewings	0–1	Vissel Kobe
	Live Report Stats Report	Furuhashi 90'

Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon

Attendance: 17,372

Referee: Mohanad Qasim (Iraq)

---

3 March 2020 (2020-03-03)

20:45  UTC+8

Johor Darul Ta'zim	Voided (2–1)	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Cabrera 13' (pen.) Maurício 73'	Live Report Stats Report	Antonis 51'

Sultan Ibrahim Larkin Stadium, Johor

Attendance: 25,524

Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

---

19 November 2020 (2020-11-19)

16:00  UTC+3

Johor Darul Ta'zim	Cancelled	Guangzhou Evergrande
	Live Report Stats Report

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

---

22 November 2020 (2020-11-22) ^{[note 5]}

13:00  UTC+3

Suwon Samsung Bluewings	0–0	Guangzhou Evergrande
	Live Report Stats Report

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)

---

25 November 2020 (2020-11-25) ^{[note 5]}

13:00  UTC+3

Guangzhou Evergrande	1–3	Vissel Kobe
Furuhashi 55' (o.g.)	Live Report Stats Report	Furuhashi 44' Douglas 74' Iniesta 84'

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)

25 November 2020 (2020-11-25)

16:00  UTC+3

Suwon Samsung Bluewings	Cancelled	Johor Darul Ta'zim
	Live Report Stats Report

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

---

28 November 2020 (2020-11-28) ^{[note 5]}

13:00  UTC+3

Vissel Kobe	0–2	Guangzhou Evergrande
	Live Report Stats Report	Talisca 17' (pen.) Ai Kesen 36'

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 0

Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

---

1 December 2020 (2020-12-01) ^{[note 5]}

13:00  UTC+3

Guangzhou Evergrande	1–1	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Wei Shihao 72'	Live Report Stats Report	Lim Sang-hyub 53'

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

1 December 2020 (2020-12-01)

16:00  UTC+3

Johor Darul Ta'zim	Cancelled	Vissel Kobe
	Live Report Stats Report

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

---

4 December 2020 (2020-12-04)

16:00  UTC+3

Guangzhou Evergrande	Cancelled	Johor Darul Ta'zim
	Live Report Stats Report

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

4 December 2020 (2020-12-04)

16:00  UTC+3

Vissel Kobe	0–2	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
	Live Report Stats Report	Kim Gun-hee 49' Lim Sang-hyub 68' (pen.)

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)

Group H

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		YOK	SSI	JEO	SYD
1	Yokohama F. Marinos	6	4	1	1	13	5	+8	13	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–2	4–1	4–0
2	Shanghai SIPG	6	3	0	3	6	10	−4	9			0–1	—	0–2	0–4
3	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	6	2	1	3	8	10	−2	7			1–2	1–2	—	1–0
4	Sydney FC	6	1	2	3	8	10	−2	5			1–1	1–2	2–2	—

Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

12 February 2020 (2020-02-12)

19:00  UTC+9

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1–2	Yokohama F. Marinos
Cho Gue-sung 80'	Live Report Stats Report	Endo 32' Kim Jin-su 37' (o.g.)

Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju

Attendance: 6,546

Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)

---

19 February 2020 (2020-02-19)

19:30  UTC+9

Yokohama F. Marinos	4–0	Sydney FC
Onaiwu 12', 51' Nakagawa 31', 33'	Live Report Stats Report

Nissan Stadium, Yokohama

Attendance: 11,863

Referee: Mooud Bonyadifar (Iran)

---

4 March 2020 (2020-03-04)

19:30  UTC+11

Sydney FC	2–2	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Buhagiar 56' Le Fondre 77' (pen.)	Live Report Stats Report	Brattan 50' (o.g.) Han Kyo-won 89'

Jubilee Oval, Sydney

Attendance: 3,255

Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

---

19 November 2020 (2020-11-19)

13:00  UTC+3

Sydney FC	1–2	Shanghai SIPG
Buhagiar 8'	Live Report Stats Report	Li Shenglong 63', 79'

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

---

22 November 2020 (2020-11-22) ^{[note 5]}

16:00  UTC+3

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1–2	Shanghai SIPG
Gustavo 24'	Live Report Stats Report	Lü Wenjun 11' Hulk 82' (pen.)

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Ammar Al-Jeneibi (United Arab Emirates)

---

25 November 2020 (2020-11-25)

13:00  UTC+3

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1–0	Sydney FC
Na Seong-eun 44'	Live Report Stats Report

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 0

Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

25 November 2020 (2020-11-25) ^{[note 5]}

16:00  UTC+3

Shanghai SIPG	0–1	Yokohama F. Marinos
	Live Report Stats Report	Amano 90'

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 0

Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)

---

28 November 2020 (2020-11-28) ^{[note 5]}

16:00  UTC+3

Yokohama F. Marinos	1–2	Shanghai SIPG
Onaiwu 21'	Live Report Stats Report	Cai Huikang 14' Lopes 55'

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 0

Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)

---

1 December 2020 (2020-12-01)

13:00  UTC+3

Yokohama F. Marinos	4–1	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Theerathon 17' Júnior 51' Nakagawa 71' Song Bum-keun 83' (o.g.)	Live Report Stats Report	Gustavo 54' (pen.)

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 0

Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)

1 December 2020 (2020-12-01)

16:00  UTC+3

Shanghai SIPG	0–4	Sydney FC
	Live Report Stats Report	Wilkinson 28' Brattan 33' Buhagiar 57', 60'

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 0

Referee: Turki Al-Khudhayr (Saudi Arabia)

---

4 December 2020 (2020-12-04) ^{[note 5]}

13:00  UTC+3

Shanghai SIPG	0–2	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
	Live Report Stats Report	Cho Gue-sung 16', 32' (pen.)

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 0

Referee: Mooud Bonyadifar (Iran)

4 December 2020 (2020-12-04)

13:00  UTC+3

Sydney FC	1–1	Yokohama F. Marinos
Buhagiar 29'	Live Report Stats Report	Saneto 18'

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 0

Referee: Saoud Al-Athbah (Qatar)

Notes

1. The identity of the second group stage team from Japan was not known at the time of the group stage draw.
2. The Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran received a letter from the Asian Football Confederation on 17 January 2020 announcing that teams from Iran would not be allowed to host their home matches in their country due to security concerns. ^{[24] [25]} The four AFC Champions League teams from Iran announced on 18 January 2020 that they would withdraw from the tournament if the ban was not reversed. ^{[26] [27]} The AFC announced on 23 January 2020 that any group stage matches which the Iranian teams were supposed to host on matchdays 1, 2 and 3 would be switched with the corresponding away matches to allow time to reassess the security concerns in the country. ^{[28] [29] [30]}
3. Al-Shorta play their home matches at Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil, instead of their regular home stadium Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad.
4. Matches between teams from Iran and Saudi Arabia are played on neutral venues due to deterioration of Iran–Saudi Arabia relations.
5. The AFC announced on 29 January 2020 that the group stage matches which Chinese teams were supposed to host on matchdays 1, 2, and 3 would be switched with the corresponding away matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic in China. ^{[32] [33]} Later, the order of matches between Beijing FC and Melbourne Victory, Guangzhou Evergrande and Vissel Kobe, and Shanghai SIPG and Yokohama F. Marinos, were switched from the revised schedule. ^[34]
6. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea, the order of matches between Ulsan Hyundai and Perth Glory was switched. ^{[35] [12]}

References

1. "AFC Competitions Calendar 2020". Asian Football Confederation. 6 December 2019.
2. "2020 AFC Champions League Competition Regulations" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation.
3. "AFC extends postponement of all matches and competitions". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 14 April 2020.
4. "AFC reiterates commitment to complete 2020 competitions with new calendar". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 9 July 2020.
5. "ACL2020 draw sets stage for spectacular affair". Asian Football Confederation. 10 December 2019.
6. "#ACL2020 & #AFCCup2020 - Preview Show". Asian Football Confederation. 9 December 2019.
7. "AFC Champions League 2020 Official Match Schedule". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation.
8. "Sydney, Perth unable to host AFC Champions League fixtures". Special Broadcasting Service. 2 February 2020.
9. "Meeting on AFC Champions League Group Stage matches to be held". Asian Football Confederation. 2 February 2020.
10. "Decisions of AFC Emergency Meeting in Kuala Lumpur". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 4 February 2020.
11. "ACL 2020 Schedule Emergency Meeting Revised Match Dates". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 4 February 2020.
12. "AFC calls for emergency meetings with National and Club representatives". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 27 February 2020.
13. "AFC Competitions update". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 9 March 2020.
14. "AFC Emergency Meetings conclude in Doha and Dubai". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 8 March 2020.
15. "East Zone teams agree to new dates". Asian Football Confederation. 2 March 2020.
16. "AFC Champions League revised schedule". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 9 July 2020.
17. "AFC Executive Committee announces updates to 2020 competitions calendar". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 9 September 2020.
18. "Qatar to host 2020 AFC Champions League in the West region". Asian Football Confederation. 16 July 2020.
19. "Malaysia to host AFC Champions League Groups G and H". Asian Football Confederation. 27 July 2020.
20. "AFC Champions League (East) to be staged in Doha". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 9 October 2020.
21. "Stadiums to host AFC Champions League in Doha unveiled". The Peninsula. 7 August 2020.
22. "Al Wahda unable to travel to AFC Champions League (West)". Asian Football Confederation. 10 September 2020.
23. "AFC COVID-19 Sub Committee's decision on Al Wahda". Asian Football Confederation. 14 September 2020.
24. "اطلاعیه روابط عمومی". Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran. 17 January 2020.
25. "Another blow to Iranian sport as AFC ban country from hosting Champions League football". Inside The Games. 17 January 2020.
26. "Iranian football teams stand against AFC's decision". Tehran Times. 18 January 2020.
27. "Iran: 'Clubs to quit AFC Champions League over home game ban'". BBC Sport. 18 January 2020.
28. "AFC Statement". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 23 January 2020.
29. "Iran: Clubs back down on Asian champions League boycott". BBC Sport. 23 January 2020.
30. "AFC Statement on AFC Champions League Group Stage matches". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 29 January 2019.
31. "Al Hilal - Update on AFC Champions League". Asian Football Confederation. 23 September 2020.
32. "AFC Statement on AFC Champions League Group Stage matches". the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation. 29 January 2020.
33. "亚足联正式确认亚冠主客对调 中超球队开局三连客" (in Chinese). Sina Sports. 29 January 2020.
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External links

• AFC Champions League , the-AFC.com
• AFC Champions League 2020, stats.the-AFC.com