Guangzhou Evergrande must show a killer instinct in front of goal if they are to see off Al Ahli in Saturday’s AFC Champions League final decider, according to Brazil midfielder Paulinho.
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The two sides meet again this weekend in China after a goalless first leg in Dubai, with the Southern China Tigers in pursuit of a second Asian crown.
“We had chances to win the game in Dubai, but we couldn’t quite capitalise,” said the former Tottenham star. “If we had scored one or two goals in the first leg we could have effectively won the tie, but we didn’t and instead we’ll have to win the second leg in our home stadium.
“I had a few chances to score myself, but it didn’t happen. Now we have some days to rest and just look forward to the game on Saturday, which we will have to win.”
Ahli grew into the opening contest after looking overawed during a debut appearance in the continent’s premier club match. Centre-back Salmeen Khamis believed this increased confidence could the Red Knights become the first UAE team in 12 years to lift the title.
He added: “This is the first time we have reached the final and so we were quite cautious in the first half in Dubai, but in the second period we dominated proceedings but we couldn’t score.
“Things would have been different going into the second leg had we scored, but eventually we still got a good result. I hope that we can have a better performance in China and win the AFC Champions League title.”
