Going into their AFC Champions League quarter-final second leg match against Shanghai SIPG, nobody would have thought Guangzhou Evergrande had a chance of progression to the semifinals. For they had lost the first leg 4-0!
The second leg was seen by many as an exercise in futility but boy what a treat it became! The Chinese team battled back to score four goals and extend the tie into extra time where they had to come up with a late equaliser again and take the game to the penalty shootout.
However, their inspired performance came to a heartbreaking end there. But Luiz Felipe Scolari's side will hold their heads high, thanks mainly to the heroics of Alan Douglas who scored a brace and laid on another goal in a brilliant outing.
Alan started proceedings for Guangzhou by scoring the first goal of the game in the 21st minute after capitalising on a defensive mixup to round the goalkeeper and find the back of the net. The former FC Salzburg man proceeded to sow seeds of doubt into Shanghai SIPG players' mind by converting a bullet header in the 35th minute from Zhang Linpeng's cross from the right.
He was a menace throughout and created four chances apart from sending in another four dangerous crosses.
Though it ended tragically, Alan's performance sees him named as Goal's Player of the Week.
