Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-1 Johor Darul Ta’zim Highlights, AFC Champions League: Suzuki Brace Downs 10-Man Visitors

Good afternoon, football fans! This is the start of our live blog covering Sanfrecce Hiroshima’s AFC Champions League Elite match against Johor Darul Ta’zim. Stay tuned for pre-match updates and line-ups as they are released.

• Fixture: Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs Johor Darul Ta'zim, Group A Matchday 7

• Series: AFC Champions League Elite 2025-26

• Venue: Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima, Japan

• Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2026

• Time: 3:30 PM IST

• Live Streaming: FanCode

Starting XI: Keisuke Osako; Tsukasa Shiotani, Taichi Yamasaki, Ju-Sung Kim; Shuto Nakano, Hayao Kawabe (c), Taishi Matsumoto, Sota Nakamura; Naoki Maeda, Matsuki Kato; Akito Suzuki.

Bench: Ouchi Issei (gk), Yudai Tanaka (gk), Naoto Arai, Tolgay Arslan, Shun Ayukawa, Yusuke Chajima, Ryo Germain, Shunki Higashi, Kosuke Kinoshita, Motoki Ohara, Takaaki Shichi, Daiki Suga.

Starting XI: Andoni Zabiaurre; Raul Parra, Eddy Israfilov, Antonio Cristian; Nene, Oscar Arribas, Afiq Fazail (c), Joao Figueiredo; Jonathan Silva; Marcos Guilherme, Jairo.

Bench: Ahmad Hazmi (gk), Ager Aketxe, Bergson, Hector Hevel, Manuel Hidalgo, Natxo Insa, Jon Irazabal, Shane Lowry, Nacho Mendez, Jun-hyeong Park, Alberto Teto, Yago Caesar.

The referee blows his whistle to get the first half underway in Hiroshima. Stay tuned!

Calamity at the back for Sanfrecce, and Marcos Guilherme puts Johot Darul Ta'zim ahead early on!! A long clearance by the JDT defence should have been dealt with by Yamasaki, but his poor back pass is intercepted by Guilherme, who finishes past a helpless Osako.

What a farcical moment for Johor as Jonathan Silva is shown a straight red card for saving a headed effort with his hand. The defender flicked the ball with his arm onto the crossbar, and the referee sends him off and awards Sanfrecce a penalty.

Suzuki steps up to take the spot kick for Sanfrecce and makes no mistake, firing it with power past Zubiaurre to draw the home side level.

Sanfrecce are gaining more and more foothold into the contest with their man advantage. A brilliant ball from the midfield is crossed first time from the right flank by Nakano, but it's just in front of the onrushing striker. Johor are playing with all the outfield players behind the ball.

What a massive chance for Johor to take the lead!! Despite soaking up pressure from Sanfrecce for long periods of time, the visitors continue to pose a threat on the counter. A lightnight break results in Arribas cutting it back for Guilherme to have a shot, but it's on the wrong side of the post and goes just wide. Four minutes added on by the fourth official.

The referee brings the first half to a close. Moments of madness at the back for both side has led to two goals in the opening 45 minutes, but huge credit to JDT for keeping the scores level despite being a man down.

Both sets of players are out on the pitch, and Sanfrecce get us underway with the match still tied. One change at the break for both sides. Sanfrecce Hiroshima bring on Germain to replace Nakamura. Johor replace Fazail with Mendez.

The perfect start for Sanfrecce as they take the lead two minutes after the restart. Meada floats in a quick ball into the box from a set-piece on the right flank, and Suzuki heads it past the goalkeeper with a glancing header.

An hour's football has been played, and it's all Sanfrecce at the moment. The visitors have been pushed back into their own half with all but the lone striker defending with their lives. Somehow, they cling on to trailing by just one goal, but a third Hiroshima strike looks inevitable. La Viola make a change as Maeda is brought off, and on comes Higashi.

There's a quick VAR check for a possible penalty, but it's not given. Sanfrecce take a corner, but it's cleared by the defence. The home side make a double change, with Arsalan and Kinoshita replacing Matsumoto and Kato.

Germain is the latest to have a shot for Sanfrecce but can't hit the target. The visitors, under immense pressure, bring on two new players – Aketxe and Yago Cesar – who replace Guilherme and Jairo.

Sanfrecce try and try for the third goal, but the JDT defence holds firm to deny them that satisfaction. Not that it matters much, as Suzuki's brace completes a remarkable comeback from the home side. Still, some credit to the visitors, who defended with their life to keep the scoreline respectable.