KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 – Malaysian champions Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) ended their AFC Champions League campaign with a scoreless draw against Thai debutants Ratchaburi FC in their final Group G match at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok on Wednesday.
The one point salvaged against the Thai club means the Johor outfit finished third in the group with four points – the same as 2019. JDT was looking for a second win over Ratchaburi, having beaten them 1-0 in the first round at the same venue.
JDT’s long-serving Mexican coach Benjamin Mora described the AFC Champions League as a success in the club’s long term development but ”there is room for improvement” between the young and the old-timers in the club.
“Right now we need plenty of rest. We need to recover and focus on the Malaysian Super League with hopes of winning it again (JDT has won the Super League for seven years in a row since 2014),” said Mora.
The Malaysian League is expected to resume later this month. However, much will depend on the pandemic situation with positive cases hovering around the 7,000 mark daily.
Coming back to the match against Ratchaburi, JDT’s Argentine hitman Leandro Velazquez played the match with a bandaged head after sustaining an injury following a clash of heads in the early minutes of the game.
Japanese club Nagoya Grampus qualified for the next round by finishing on the top in the group with 16 points from six matches after a 1-1 draw against Korea’s Pohang Steelers.
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