AVB hit out at AFC for favoring Evergrande in dramatic match

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Shanghai SIPG had a hard fought night at Guangzhou’s Tianhe Stadium against Evergrande on Tuesday evening, and advanced to the semifinals of the AFC Champions League through penalty shoot-out. SIPG head coach Andre Villas-Boas hit out at AFC during the post-match conference, hinting that AFC has been making preferential decisions for Evergrande. SIPG was carrying a 4-0 first leg lead to Guangzhou, but two-time Asian champion Evergrande almost copied what Barcelona did to PSG in the UEFA Champions League last season.

They scored two goals in each half of the second leg home match on Tuesday to make the total score 4-4 in regular time. Each side scored one more goal in extra time before SIPG claimed the victory in the penalty shoot-out. “We didn’t expect the result to be 4-0, and didn’t expect the match to be dragged for so long,” Andre Villas-Boas said at the post-match press conference. When asked about the team’s performance, the Portuguese gave some surprising comments. “This is the greatest achievement for SIPG ever, because it looks like a club is dominating the AFC.

This club (Evergrande) can do everything.” AVB complained that the referee picked a side of the pitch for the shoot-out according to the wish of home fans. He also complained about a card decision by the referee in the two side’s first leg clash in Shanghai, which led to the suspension of SIPG defender Fu Huan in Tuesday’s match. SIPG goalie Yan Junling was given a yellow card during Tuesday’s penalty shoot-out and would miss SIPG’s next Asian match. “Giving a yellow card (to our goalie) in the second penalty, this is such a disgrace,” said AVB, who also unveiled that the team’s bus encountered strange accidents on the way to the stadium. “We encountered car accidents with the same car twice on the way to the stadium. Also, there was some drama in hotel booking before we arrived. So it’s not easy for SIPG to win the match under such conditions.”