Soccer-The week in Asian football

Central Coast play their game in hand on Tuesday against Melbourne City before the top two meet in Gosford on Saturday. MACHIDA MAINTAIN J.LEAGUE LEAD AS OH DOUBLE DOWNS TOSU Newly promoted Machida Zelvia continued to set the early pace in Japan with a 3-1 win over Sagan Tosu on Saturday while defending champions Vissel Kobe beat Consadole Sapporo 6-1. Oh Se-hun's second half double moved Machida onto 13 points from five games.

Talking points from the week in Asian football:

MITROVIC DOUBLE EXTENDS AL-HILAL'S RECORD RUN OF VICTORIES Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice as Al-Hilal extended their record winning run in all competitions to 30 games with a 4-3 victory over Al-Shabab that kept them 12 points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League.

Mitrovic cancelled out Musab Al-Juwayr's third-minute opener from the penalty spot in the 20th minute before giving his side the lead seven minutes later. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic hit Al-Hilal's third three minutes before halftime and Salem Al-Dawsari extended the visitors' lead 12 minutes into the second half.

Hussain Al-Sibyani and Romain Saiss reduced the deficit but Al-Hilal held on to maintain their lead over Al-Nassr, who beat Al-Tai 5-1. WELLINGTON INCREASE A-LEAGUE LEAD WITH WIN OVER BRISBANE

Wellington Phoenix padded their lead in the A-League to six points after Bozhidar Kraev's second-minute goal secured a 1-0 win over Brisbane Roar, as nearest challengers Central Coast Mariners lost 2-0 to Sydney FC. Central Coast play their game in hand on Tuesday against Melbourne City before the top two meet in Gosford on Saturday.

MACHIDA MAINTAIN J.LEAGUE LEAD AS OH DOUBLE DOWNS TOSU Newly promoted Machida Zelvia continued to set the early pace in Japan with a 3-1 win over Sagan Tosu on Saturday while defending champions Vissel Kobe beat Consadole Sapporo 6-1.

Oh Se-hun's second half double moved Machida onto 13 points from five games. Yukinori Muto and Taisei Miyashiro both scored twice in Kobe's comprehensive home victory over Sapporo. Kobe are third in the standings, three points behind Machida and one behind Cerezo Osaka, who beat Shonan Bellmare 2-0.

GIMCHEON GO TOP IN KOREA AFTER ULSAN HELD BY JEONBUK Gimcheon Sangmu moved into top spot in the K-League on Saturday with a 4-1 win over Suwon FC as defending champions Ulsan HD were held 2-2 by Jeonbuk Motors.

Gimcheon lead Pohang Steelers on goals scored with both clubs on nine points from four matches. Pohang won 2-0 against Jeju United. Ulsan dropped to third with eight points after Hong Myung-bo's side squandered a two-goal lead against Jeonbuk. SHANGHAI SHENHUA DEFEAT SHANDONG TO MAINTAIN PERFECT START

Shanghai Shenhua picked up their third win in a row on Sunday by beating Shandong Taishan 3-0 to go two points clear in the Chinese Super League. Tianjin Tigers downed Changchun Yatai 1-0 to stay second, one of four teams - including defending champions Shanghai Port - on seven points. Port earned a 3-1 win over Henan FC thanks to goals from Wu Lei, Zhang Linpeng and Matias Vargas.

QATAR BOOK BERTH IN NEXT STAGE OF ASIAN WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS Qatar advanced to the third phase of Asia's 2026 World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday with a 2-1 victory over Kuwait as Iran, Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates joined Australia and Iraq in securing progress to the next round.

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