Soccer-The week in Asian football

Talking points from the week in Asian football: OSAKA, MUTO ON TARGET AS VISSEL DOWN MARINOS IN JAPAN Vissel Kobe took a big step towards their first league title on Friday after goals from Yuya Osako and Yoshinori Muto gave them a 2-0 win over Yokohama F Marinos, opening up a four-point gap over the defending champions with five games remaining. Osako scored his 20th goal of the season with a 23rd minute penalty and Muto doubled his side's lead three minutes before the break with a header from Ryo Hatsuse's corner.

Talking points from the week in Asian football:

OSAKA, MUTO ON TARGET AS VISSEL DOWN MARINOS IN JAPAN Vissel Kobe took a big step towards their first league title on Friday after goals from Yuya Osako and Yoshinori Muto gave them a 2-0 win over Yokohama F Marinos, opening up a four-point gap over the defending champions with five games remaining.

Osako scored his 20th goal of the season with a 23rd minute penalty and Muto doubled his side's lead three minutes before the break with a header from Ryo Hatsuse's corner. Urawa Red Diamonds held onto third spot despite being held 0-0 by Yokohama FC as fourth-placed Kashima Antlers also drew 0-0 with Avispa Fukuoka.

ULSAN MAINTAIN EIGHT-POINT LEAD IN KOREA Defending champions Ulsan Hyundai retained their eight-point lead on Saturday after a 0-0 draw with second-placed Pohang Steelers.

Ulsan have won only once in their last five games but are well clear of their rivals with only one game left until the league enters into the championship rounds. The top six teams in the league will play five more matches against one another to determine the champions while the teams in the bottom half of the table will face off to decide who will be relegated.

WU LEI STRIKES AS SHANGHAI PORT CLOSE IN ON CHINESE TITLE Shanghai Port moved to the verge of winning their first Chinese Super League title since 2018 with a 1-0 win over Nantong Zhiyun on Friday.

Wu Lei scored the only goal of the game in the 29th minute as Port maintained their eight-point lead over Shandong Taishan with three games remaining in the campaign. Victory over Beijing Guoan on Oct. 20 will guarantee a second Chinese title for Port.

AL-HILAL BACK ON TOP IN SAUDI DESPITE NEYMAR'S PENALTY MISS Al-Hilal overcame Neymar's missed penalty to return to the top of the Saudi Pro League on Friday after a 2-0 win over Al-Shabab saw them climb a point clear of Al-Ittihad.

Defending champions Al-Ittihad had been held to a 0-0 draw by Al Fayha on Thursday, allowing Al-Hilal to return to pole position after slipping into second last week. Neymar hit the post with a first-half penalty but set up Kalidou Koulibay to score with a 68th minute header at a corner before Aleksandar Mitrovic doubled their lead eight minutes later.

SOUTH KOREA STAY ON TRACK IN ASIAN GAMES GOLD MEDAL DEFENCE Defending champions South Korea beat hosts China 2-0 to advance to the semi-finals of the Asian Games on Sunday, where they will face Uzbekistan following their 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia.

Hong Kong will take on Japan in the other semi-final after they claimed a shock 1-0 win over Iran, with the Japanese defeating North Korea 2-1 to advance.

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