Villas-Boas concedes ACL semi-final tie ‘open’

Brazilian striker Hulk hit his ninth goal in the Asian Champions League this season but Shanghai SIPG failed to take their chances in a 1-1 semi-final stalemate with Urawa Red Diamonds yesterday. Andre Villas-Boas’s side will travel to Japan for the second leg on October 18 very much in the tie, but they could easily have been out of sight. Villas-Boas said the tie was “completely open” despite conceding a crucial away goal against the run of play. “I’m so sorry to disappoint the media,” an he said afterwards, his voice dripping with irony, after a Chinese reporter said freescoring Shanghai had been expected to score more than the one goal.