Oscar penalty miss as Silva bullet sinks SIPG

Big-money midfielder Oscar missed a second-half penalty as Andre Villas-Boas's Shanghai SIPG lost 1-0 to Urawa Red Diamonds in their first defeat of this year's AFC Champions League on Tuesday. After SIPG went behind to Rafael Silva's 44th-minute strike, 60-million-euro signing Oscar looked set to maintain SIPG's unbeaten record in Group F when he won a penalty in the 64th minute. But the Brazil international, after a stutter run-up, saw his spot-kick palmed onto the bar by Urawa goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa, prompting loud celebrations by the home fans. The result means the Japanese side replace SIPG at the top of Group F on away goals scored in fixtures between the two sides, after SIPG's 3-2 win in Shanghai last month. Alex Teixeira, another expensive Brazilian import to China, fared much better as he scored one and set up two more in Jiangsu Suning's 3-0 victory over Japan's Gamba Osaka. Teixeira slammed a sumptuous opener after just three minutes when he robbed veteran Japan international Yasuhito Endo and surged forward before hitting a powerful finish past Masaaki Higashiguchi. He teed up his Brazilian compatriot, Ramires, four minutes later with a dangerous ball into the box which the ex-Chelsea man steered past Higashiguchi. And Teixeira completed the masterclass just before half-time with a pinpoint free kick onto the head of defender Hong Jeong-Ho, who made it 3-0 as Jiangsu stayed top of Group H with a maximum 12 points from four games. Below them in the same group, Adelaide United resurrected their hopes of reaching the last 16 with a 3-1 away win over Jeju United to climb off the bottom of the standings. And in Group F, FC Seoul kept their campaign just alive with a 3-2 victory over 2014 champions Western Sydney Wanderers, courtesy of a double from Dejan Damjanovic. "I'm really happy and finally we won," said the Montenegrin striker, as he celebrated the first win of the campaign for last year's semi-finalists. Of reports linking him to the Wanderers for next season, Damjanovic added: "I am 36 soon and I came to Korea to finish my football, but you never know and my contract finishes in November but my first option is Seoul." - Diop double powers Al Ahli - Seoul's first points in Group F give them an outside chance of making the knockout rounds as they are tied on three points with Western Sydney, six behind Urawa and SIPG. In West Asia, the UAE’s Al Ahli joined Iran’s Esteghlal at the top of the table in Group A with a 3-1 away win against Saudi side Al Tawoon. Makhete Diop was the hero with two goals while Everton Ribeiro scored the other as Al Ahli took their tally to seven points from four matches. Alassane N’Diaye pulled one back for Al Tawoon with a penalty in the 63rd minute, but Cosmin Olariou’s side cruised victory to boost their knockout chances. Earlier, Esteghlal earned a 1-1 draw at Lokomotiv Tashkent with Kaveh Rezaei netting the equalizer in the 87th minute after Marat Bikmaev had given the Uzbeks a 13th-minute lead. In Group C, Syrian forward Omar Al-Somah went from villain to hero in a space of three minutes as Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli snatched a point against hosts Al Ain of the UAE. Omar Abdulrahman scored from the penalty spot in the 86th minute to give Al Ain a 2-1 lead after Al-Somah was adjudged to have handled the ball. But Al-Somah, who had cancelled out Ismail Ahmed’s sixth-minute goal with a 43rd-minute equalizer, had the last laugh with a low volley a minute from time to ensure his side shared the spoils and remained top with eight points. Al Ain dropped to third place after Iran's Zobahan scored a 2-1 victory over bottom side Bunyodkor to move up to second, eliminating their Uzbek opponents in the process.