By Michael Church
(Reuters) – Talking points from the week in Asian football:
AUCKLAND EXTEND A-LEAGUE LEAD WITH WIN OVER CENTRAL COAST
Auckland FC returned to winning ways on Saturday with a 4-1 win over Central Coast Mariners to open up a four-point lead in Australia.
The New Zealanders took full advantage of Adelaide United’s 3-2 loss to Western Sydney Wanderers to extend their advantage at the summit while Melbourne Victory remain third after a 3-0 defeat by Sydney FC.
Joe Lolley scored a brace at Sydney Football Stadium but the home side’s celebrations were muted by a hamstring injury to marquee signing Douglas Costa.
HOLDERS IRAQ ELIMINATED FROM GULF CUP
Defending champions Iraq crashed out of the Gulf Cup on Saturday after a 3-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia saw them miss out on a place in the semi-finals.
The Saudis took second place in Group B behind Bahrain, who retained top spot despite a 2-1 loss to Yemen. Bahrain face hosts Kuwait in the last four while Saudi Arabia play Group A winners Oman.
VIETNAM DOWN SINGAPORE TO TAKE ASEAN CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL SLOT
Vietnam will face either Thailand or the Philippines in the Asean Championship final after they defeated Singapore 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
The Vietnamese, champions in 2008 and 2018, beat Singapore 2-0 at Jalan Besar Stadium in the first leg before following up with a 3-1 victory in Viet Tri in the return.
Defending champions Thailand will need to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg in Manila if they are to move past the Philippines and progress to an 11th Asean final.
OSCAR CONFIRMS SHANGHAI PORT DEPARTURE, JOINS SAO PAULO
Brazilian playmaker Oscar confirmed his departure from Shanghai Port after more than seven seasons with the Chinese Super League champions.
The 33-year-old announced on social media on Christmas Day that he would not be renewing his contract with the club he joined from Chelsea in 2017 and where he won three CSL titles.
Oscar, who has signed a contract with Sao Paulo, arrived at in Shanghai during the height of Chinese football’s spending boom and led his team to the title in 2018, 2023 and 2024.
(Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Peter Rutherford)
