Yuki Soma Lifts Machida Zelvia Past Shanghai SIPG as AFC Champions League Group Stage Tightens in Pudong
A cold, persistent drizzle hung over Pudong Football Stadium on Tuesday night, but it was the sudden bolt of brilliance from Yuki Soma that electrified an otherwise tense and cagey affair, propelling Machida Zelvia to a vital 2-0 victory over SHANGHAI SIPG in their AFC Champions League group clash.
The match’s solitary breakthrough—and, as it unfolded, its decisive moment—arrived in the 25th minute. Soma, Machida’s fleet-footed winger and recent constant on the scoresheet, found space cutting inside from the left. His strike was clinical and assured, guiding the ball past a diving SIPG keeper, who could only watch as the net rippled. For a side that has leaned heavily on set pieces and late drama in domestic play, Machida’s opener was a reward for ambition and energy in the opening half hour.
SIPG, fresh off a breathless 4-3 domestic triumph at Qingdao Jonoon just days prior, looked poised in the opening exchanges—dictating tempo, probing along the flanks, and threatening with Leonardo and Gabrielzinho in advanced areas. Yet as the minutes ticked on, the urgency that saw them score 13 goals in their last four matches seemed to dissipate in the international spotlight. By halftime, SIPG’s attacking rhythm had turned stilted and the home crowd restive, the early season Champions League optimism doused with every misplaced pass.
Machida, meanwhile, seemed to find composure with the lead, locking down their lines and forcing SIPG into speculative shots from distance. Zelvia’s own season has been a tapestry of defensive grit—three draws in their last five matches, including a goalless stalemate against Avispa Fukuoka just 72 hours before this trip to Shanghai, have made them stubborn to break down. Tonight, that resolve was on full display, as center back G. Shōji marshaled the back line with authority and goalkeeper Okabe parried away SIPG’s best efforts—a fizzing Leonardo free kick in the 61st minute chief among them.
The key moments that could have turned momentum Shanghai’s way never arrived. The hosts’ best spell, a frenetic five-minute burst after halftime, yielded little more than a half-hearted penalty appeal and a deflected shot off the upright by Li Xinxiang. Tempers briefly flared in the 77th minute after a late tackle drew furious protests from SIPG’s bench, but order was quickly restored. No red cards marred the contest; only a blizzard of yellow cards in midfield spoke to its underlying tension.
With SIPG pressing higher in search of an equalizer late on, Machida struck a second blow in stoppage time—a swift counterattack initiated by Daihachi Okamura, whose threaded pass found Soma again on the break. Soma, the match’s architect and executioner, squared unselfishly for an easy tap-in by his forward partner, only for the finish to be ruled marginally offside. The assistant referee’s flag spared SIPG further punishment, but the statement had been made: Machida’s edge in this contest was no accident.
This result deepens the shadows over Shanghai’s continental campaign. With just one point from two matches and sitting 12th in the group table, SIPG find themselves at a crossroads, the promise of their domestic form evaporating on the broader Asian stage. The echoes of their 0-3 drubbing by Vissel Kobe in the group opener, and the missed opportunity after holding Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-1 away, now loom larger.
For Machida Zelvia, the night was a vindication of sturdy principles. Now with two points from two unbeaten matches, and up to 10th in a crowded table, they have positioned themselves tantalizingly close to the group’s upper reaches. In this, their first-ever group meeting with SIPG—a fresh chapter in both clubs’ Champions League stories—the Japanese side delivered a performance of clarity and purpose.
The reverse fixture in Tokyo already beckons on the horizon. For SIPG, only victory will be enough to revive hopes of advancing, while Machida will look to build on a first away win that suddenly makes progression more than just a distant dream. For both, the intricacies and pressures of the AFC Champions League have never felt more acute, nor its margins more unforgiving.