 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | Qualifying: 14–28 January 2020 Competition proper: 10 February – 19 December 2020 |
| Teams | Competition proper: 29 teams (from 23 associations) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Ulsan Hyundai (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  Persepolis |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 93 |
| Goals scored | 236 (2.54 per match) |
| Attendance | 182,388 (1,961 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Abderrazak Hamdallah Júnior Negrão(7 goals each)[1] |
| Best player | Yoon Bit-garam[2] |
| Fair play award | Ulsan Hyundai |
←2019 2021 → (Note: All statistics do not include qualifying play-offs and matches voided by AFC) | |
The2020 AFC Champions League was the 39th edition of Asia's premier clubfootball tournament organized by theAsian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 18th under the currentAFC Champions League title.[3]
Ulsan Hyundai won their second Champions League title by defeatingPersepolis 2–1 in thefinal.[4] Ulsan automatically qualify for the2021 AFC Champions League (although they had already qualified through their domestic performance), the first time since2008 that the AFC Champions League holders were guaranteed automatic qualification in the following year.[5][6] They also earned the right to play in the2020 FIFA Club World Cup inQatar.
The tournament was the last to involve 32 teams during the group stage, which increased to 40 teams in 2021.[7]
The competition was suspended due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Asia after group stage matches on 4 March 2020,[8] and restarted on 14 September 2020.[9] All matches after the restart were played in Qatar,[10][11][12] with the final played at theAl Janoub Stadium in the city ofAl Wakrah.
Al-Hilal ofSaudi Arabia were the defending champions, but the club effectively withdrew from the competition when they could not name the required 13 players for their final group stage match, as all but 11 players had tested positive forCOVID-19.[13][14] For the first time, thevideo assistant referee (VAR) system was in use from the quarter-finals onwards.[15]
The 46AFC member associations (excluding the associate memberNorthern Mariana Islands) were ranked based on their national team's and clubs' performance over the last four years in AFC competitions, with the allocation of slots for the 2019 and 2020 editions of the AFC club competitions determined by the 2017AFC rankings (Entry Manual Article 2.3):[16]
For the 2020 AFC Champions League, the associations were allocated slots according to theirassociation ranking which was published on 15 December 2017,[17] which took into account their performance in the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, as well as their national team'sFIFA World Rankings, during the period between 2014 and 2017.[16][18]
| Participation for 2020 AFC Champions League | |
|---|---|
| Participating | |
| Not participating | |
|
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The following 52 teams from 23 associations entered the competition.
In the following table, the number of appearances and last appearance count only those since the 2002–03 season (including qualifying rounds), when the competition was rebranded as the AFC Champions League.
Al-Shorta
Al-ZawraaTehran teams
PersepolisEsteghlalQatar teams
Al-SaddAl-DuhailAl-SailiyaAl-RayyanAl-Nassr
Al-HilalDSA Metropolitan teamsSharjahShabab Al-AhliTashkent teamsPakhtakor TashkentLokomotiv TashkentBunyodkor
Shanghai Shenhua
Shanghai SIPGWest Kanto teamsYokohama F. MarinosFC TokyoSeoul Capital Area teams
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
FC Seoul Brown: Group A; Red: Group B; Orange: Group C; Yellow: Group D; Green: Group E; Blue: Group F; Purple: Group G; Pink: Group H; Qualifying play-offs
Blue: West RegionThe schedule of the competition was as follows.[21] Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, only some of the group stage matches on matchdays 1–3 in February and March were played as scheduled, and all matches on matchdays 4–6 were postponed until further notice.[8] The round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals were also initially moved to 10–12 and 24–26 August, 14–16 and 28–30 September, and 20–21 and 27–28 October.[22][23]
The AFC announced the calendar of the remaining matches on 9 July 2020, with all matches before the final played at centralised venues, and all knockout ties played as a single match.[9] On 10 September 2020, the AFC announced the new dates for the East Region matches and the final.[24]
Notes:
| Stage | Round | Draw date | Match dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary stage | Preliminary round 1 | No draw | 14 January 2020 |
| Preliminary round 2 | 21 January 2020 | ||
| Play-off stage | Play-off round | 28 January 2020 | |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 10 December 2019 | 10–12 February 2020,18–19 November 2020 (E) |
| Matchday 2 | 17–19 February 2020,21–22 November 2020 (E) | ||
| Matchday 3 | 3–4 March 2020 (E),14–15 September 2020 (W),24–25 November 2020 (E) | ||
| Matchday 4 | 17–18 September 2020 (W),27–28 November 2020 (E) | ||
| Matchday 5 | 20–21 September 2020 (W),30 November – 1 December 2020 (E) | ||
| Matchday 6 | 23–24 September 2020 (W),3–4 December 2020 (E) | ||
| Knockout stage | Round of 16 | 26–27 September 2020 (W),6–7 December 2020 (E) | |
| Quarter-finals | 28 September 2020 (W) 8 December 2020 (E) | 30 September 2020 (W),10 December 2020 (E) | |
| Semi-finals | 3 October 2020 (W),13 December 2020 (E) | ||
| Final | 19 December 2020 atAl Janoub Stadium,Al Wakrah |
The original schedule of the competition, as planned before the pandemic, was as follows.
| Stage | Round | Draw date | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary stage | Preliminary round 1 | No draw | 14 January 2020 | |
| Preliminary round 2 | 21 January 2020 | |||
| Play-off stage | Play-off round | 28 January 2020 | ||
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 10 December 2019 | 10–12 February 2020 | |
| Matchday 2 | 17–19 February 2020 | |||
| Matchday 3 | 2–4 March 2020 | |||
| Matchday 4 | 6–8 April 2020 | |||
| Matchday 5 | 20–22 April 2020 | |||
| Matchday 6 | 4–6 May 2020 | |||
| Knockout stage | Round of 16 | 18–19 May 2020 (W), 26–27 May 2019 (E) | 25–26 May 2020 (W), 16–17 June 2020 (E) | |
| Quarter-finals | TBD | 24–26 August 2020 | 14–16 September 2020 | |
| Semi-finals | 29–30 September 2020 | 20–21 October 2020 | ||
| Final | 22 November 2020 | 28 November 2020 | ||
In the qualifying play-offs, each tie was played as a single match.Extra time and apenalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 9.2).[3]The bracket of the qualifying play-offs for each region was determined based on theassociation ranking of each team, with the team from the higher-ranked association hosting the match.[25] Teams from the same association could not be placed into the same tie. The eight winners of the play-off round (four each from both West Region and East Region) advanced to thegroup stage to join the 24 direct entrants. All losers in each round from associations with only play-off slots entered theAFC Cup group stage.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
Chennai City | 0–1 |  Al-Riffa |
Al-Faisaly | 1–2 (a.e.t.) |  Al-Kuwait |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
Ceres–Negros | 3–2 |  Shan United |
Tampines Rovers | 3–5 (a.e.t.) |  Bali United |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
Bunyodkor | 4–1 |  Al-Zawraa |
| Lokomotiv Tashkent | 0–1 |  Istiklol |
| Shahr Khodro | 2–1 | Al-Riffa |
| Esteghlal | 3–0 | Al-Kuwait |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
Kedah | 5–1 |  Tai Po |
Buriram United | 2–1 |  Ho Chi Minh City |
| Port | 0–1 | Ceres–Negros |
Melbourne Victory | 5–0 | Bali United |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
Al-Ain | 1–0 | Bunyodkor |
Al-Ahli | 1–0 | Istiklol |
Al-Sailiya | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–5p) | Shahr Khodro |
| Al-Rayyan | 0–5 | Esteghlal |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| FC Seoul | 4–1 | Kedah |
Shanghai SIPG | 3–0 | Buriram United |
FC Tokyo | 2–0 | Ceres–Negros |
| Kashima Antlers | 0–1 | Melbourne Victory |
The draw for the group stage was held on 10 December 2019, 16:30MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House inKuala Lumpur,Malaysia.[26] The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four: four groups each in the West Region (Groups A–D) and the East Region (Groups E–H). Teams from the same association could not be drawn into the same group.
In the group stage, each group was played on a doubleround-robin basis, with matches played home-and-away before the suspension due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, but moved to centralised venues after restart. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to theround of 16 of theknockout stage.
| Tiebreakers |
|---|
The teams were ranked according topoints (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 10.5):[3]
|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AHL | EST | SHO | WAH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Ahli | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 6 | Advance toknockout stage | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | ||
| 2 | Esteghlal | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 5 | 3–0 | — | 1–1 | |||
| 3 | Al-Shorta | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — | |||
| 4 | Al-Wahda | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew, results expunged[a] | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | PAK | SAH | SHK | HIL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pakhtakor | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 10 | Advance toknockout stage | — | 2–1 | 3–0 | ||
| 2 | Shabab Al-Ahli | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 7 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 | |||
| 3 | Shahr Khodro | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | |||
| 4 | Al-Hilal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew, results expunged[a] | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | PRS | TAW | DUH | SHJ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Persepolis | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 10 | Advance toknockout stage | — | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | |
| 2 | Al-Taawoun | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 9[a] | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | 0–6 | ||
| 3 | Al-Duhail | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 9[a] | 2–0 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | Sharjah | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 7 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 4–2 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | NAS | SAD | SEP | AIN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Nassr | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 11 | Advance toknockout stage | — | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | |
| 2 | Al-Sadd | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 9 | 1–1 | — | 3–0 | 4–0 | ||
| 3 | Sepahan | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 7 | 0–2 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | ||
| 4 | Al-Ain | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 5 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 0–4 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BEI | MVC | SEO | CHI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beijing Guoan | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 16 | Advance toknockout stage | — | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | |
| 2 | Melbourne Victory | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 7 | 0–2 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | FC Seoul | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 6 | 1–2 | 1–0 | — | 5–0 | ||
| 4 | Chiangrai United | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 5 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ULS | TOK | SSH | PRG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ulsan Hyundai | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 5 | +9 | 16 | Advance toknockout stage | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | FC Tokyo | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 10 | 1–2 | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Shanghai Shenhua | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 13 | −4 | 7 | 1–4 | 1–2 | — | 3–3 | ||
| 4 | Perth Glory | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | VIS | SUW | GZE | JDT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vissel Kobe | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 6 | Advance toknockout stage | — | 0–2 | 0–2 | ||
| 2 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | |||
| 3 | Guangzhou Evergrande | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1–3 | 1–1 | — | |||
| 4 | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew, results expunged[a] | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | YOK | SSI | JEO | SYD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 13 | Advance toknockout stage | — | 1–2 | 4–1 | 4–0 | |
| 2 | Shanghai SIPG | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 9 | 0–1 | — | 0–2 | 0–4 | ||
| 3 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 7 | 1–2 | 1–2 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 4 | Sydney FC | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 5 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | — |
In the knockout stage, the 16 teams played asingle-elimination tournament, with the teams split into the two regions until the final. Each tie was played as a single-leg match at centralised venues, instead of the usual home-and-awaytwo-legged basis as planned before theCOVID-19 pandemic.Extra time and apenalty shoot-out were used to decide the winners if necessary.
The bracket was decided after the draw for the quarter-finals. The draw for the West Region quarter-finals was held on 28 September 2020, 11:00AST (UTC+3), and the draw for the East Region quarter-finals was held on 8 December 2020, 11:30AST (UTC+3), both inDoha,Qatar.[31][32][33][34]
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| 27 September –Al Rayyan (ECS) | ||||||||||||||
| Al-Nassr | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 30 September –Al Rayyan (JBHS) | ||||||||||||||
| Al-Taawoun | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Al-Nassr | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 26 September –Al Wakrah | ||||||||||||||
| Al-Ahli | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Al-Ahli(p) | 1 (4) | |||||||||||||
| 3 October –Al Rayyan (JBHS) | ||||||||||||||
| Shabab Al-Ahli | 1 (3) | |||||||||||||
| Al-Nassr | 1 (3) | |||||||||||||
| 27 September –Al Rayyan (ECS) | ||||||||||||||
| Persepolis(p) | 1 (5) | |||||||||||||
| Persepolis | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 30 September –Al Rayyan (JBHS) | ||||||||||||||
| Al-Sadd | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Persepolis | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 26 September –Al Wakrah | ||||||||||||||
| Pakhtakor | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Pakhtakor | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 19 December –Al Wakrah | ||||||||||||||
| Esteghlal | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Persepolis | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 6 December –Al Rayyan (ECS) | ||||||||||||||
| Ulsan Hyundai | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Ulsan Hyundai | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 10 December –Al Wakrah | ||||||||||||||
| Melbourne Victory | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Ulsan Hyundai | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 6 December –Al Rayyan (ECS) | ||||||||||||||
| Beijing FC | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Beijing FC | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 13 December –Al Rayyan (JBHS) | ||||||||||||||
| FC Tokyo | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Ulsan Hyundai(a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 7 December –Al Rayyan (KIS) | ||||||||||||||
| Vissel Kobe | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Vissel Kobe | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 10 December –Al Wakrah | ||||||||||||||
| Shanghai SIPG | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Vissel Kobe(p) | 1 (7) | |||||||||||||
| 7 December –Al Rayyan (KIS) | ||||||||||||||
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 1 (6) | |||||||||||||
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 3 | |||||||||||||
In the round of 16, the winners of one group played against the runners-up of another group from the same region and the matchups were determined by the group stage draw.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahli | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–3p) | Shabab Al-Ahli |
| Pakhtakor | 2–1 | Esteghlal |
| Persepolis | 1–0 | Al-Sadd |
| Al-Nassr | 1–0 | Al-Taawoun |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Beijing FC | 1–0 | FC Tokyo |
| Ulsan Hyundai | 3–0 | Melbourne Victory |
| Vissel Kobe | 2–0 | Shanghai SIPG |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 2–3 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings |
In the quarter-finals, the four teams from the West Region played in two ties, and the four teams from the East Region played in two ties, with the matchups decided by draw, without any seeding or country protection. The draw for the West Region quarter-finals was held on 28 September 2020,[31][32] and the draw for the East Region quarter-finals was held on 8 December 2020.[33][34]
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Nassr | 2–0 | Al-Ahli |
| Persepolis | 2–0 | Pakhtakor |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Ulsan Hyundai | 2–0 | Beijing FC |
| Vissel Kobe | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (7–6p) | Suwon Samsung Bluewings |
In the semi-finals, the two quarter-final winners from the West Region played against each other, and the two quarter-final winners from the East Region played against each other.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Nassr | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–5p) | Persepolis |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Ulsan Hyundai | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Vissel Kobe |
In the final, the two semi-final winners played against each other, atAl Janoub Stadium inAl Wakrah, Qatar.[12]
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player[2] | Yoon Bit-garam | Ulsan Hyundai |
| Top Scorer[1] | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al-Nassr |
| Fair Play Award | Ulsan Hyundai | |
Note:Abderrazak Hamdallah finished ahead ofJúnior Negrão to win the Top Scorer award despite scoring the same number of goals, and also having the same number of assists (first tiebreaker), since he played fewer minutes throughout the competition (second tiebreaker).[1]
Source:[35]
| Position | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Jo Su-huk | Ulsan Hyundai |
| Hamed Lak | Persepolis | |
| Defenders |  Dave Bulthuis | Ulsan Hyundai |
| Saeid Aghaei | Persepolis | |
| Hossein Kanaanizadegan | Persepolis | |
| Sultan Al-Ghanam | Al-Nassr | |
| Anzur Ismailov | Pakhtakor Tashkent | |
| Midfielders | Ahmad Nourollahi | Persepolis |
| Siamak Nemati | Persepolis | |
| Bashar Resan | Persepolis | |
| Renato Augusto | Beijing Guoan | |
| Yoon Bit-garam | Ulsan Hyundai | |
| Kim In-sung | Ulsan Hyundai | |
| Sin Jin-ho | Ulsan Hyundai | |
| Ko Seung-beom | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | |
| Hotaru Yamaguchi | Vissel Kobe | |
| Forwards | Mehdi Abdi | Persepolis |
 Omar Al Somah | Al-Ahli | |
| Douglas | Vissel Kobe | |
| Gotoku Sakai | Vissel Kobe | |
| Abderazak Hamdallah | Al-Nassr | |
 Bjørn Maars Johnsen | Ulsan Hyundai | |
| Júnior Negrão | Ulsan Hyundai |
Source:[36]
| Position | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Brad Jones | Al-Nassr |
| Defenders | Wang Gang | Beijing Guoan |
| Yu Yang | Beijing Guoan | |
| Min Sang-gi | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | |
| Theerathon Bunmathan | Yokohama F. Marinos | |
| Midfielders | Yoon Bit-garam | Ulsan Hyundai |
| Teruhito Nakagawa | Yokohama F. Marinos | |
 Jonathan Viera | Beijing Guoan | |
| Forwards | Ado Onaiwu | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al-Nassr | |
| Alan | Beijing Guoan |
The AFC took polls of fans in its website after the tournament.
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Fans' Best Player | Hamed Lak | Persepolis |
| Best Goal | Mehdi Abdi | Persepolis |
| Position | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Hamed Lak | Persepolis |
| Defenders | Sultan Al-Ghanam | Al-Nassr |
| Shojae Khalilzadeh | Persepolis | |
| Hossein Kanaanizadegan | Persepolis | |
| Saeid Aghaei | Persepolis | |
| Midfielders | Teruhito Nakagawa | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| Bashar Resan | Persepolis | |
| Takuya Kida | Yokohama F. Marinos | |
| Forwards | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al-Nassr |
| Júnior Negrão | Ulsan Hyundai | |
| Mehdi Abdi | Persepolis |
| Category[38] | Player | Team | Figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goals | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al-Nassr | 7 |
| Júnior Negrão | Ulsan Hyundai | 7 | |
| Chances created | Yoon Bit-garam | Ulsan Hyundai | 22 |
| Clearances | Maicon Pereira Roque | Al-Nassr | 34 |
| Duels won |  Dragan Ćeran | Pakhtakor Tashkent | 54 |
| Shooting accuracy |  Baghdad Bounedjah | Al-Sadd | 61.1% |
| Passing accuracy | Kamal Kamyabinia | Persepolis | 91.6% |
| Saves | Jo Su-huk | Ulsan Hyundai | 26 |
| Rank | Player | Team | MD1 | MD2 | MD3 | MD4 | MD5 | MD6 | R16 | QF | SF | F | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al-Nassr | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||||
| Júnior Negrão | Ulsan Hyundai | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Trent Buhagiar | Sydney FC | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||||||
| Bjørn Maars Johnsen | Ulsan Hyundai | 2 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
| 5 | Alan | Beijing FC | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||||
| Issa Alekasir | Persepolis | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Baghdad Bounedjah | Al-Sadd | 1 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
| Ado Onaiwu | Yokohama F. Marinos | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Yoon Bit-garam | Ulsan Hyundai | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 10 | Mehdi Abdi | Persepolis | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||||
| Akram Afif | Al-Sadd | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Almoez Ali | Al-Duhail | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Hassan Al-Haydos | Al-Sadd | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Cho Gue-sung | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Kyogo Furuhashi | Vissel Kobe | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
 Giovanni Moreno | Shanghai Shenhua | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Teruhito Nakagawa | Yokohama F. Marinos | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Park Chu-young | FC Seoul | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Welliton | Sharjah | 3 | |||||||||||
| Yu Hanchao | Shanghai Shenhua | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Yun Ju-tae | FC Seoul | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
Note: Goals scored in the qualifying play-offs and matches voided by AFC are not counted when determining top scorer (Regulations Article 64.4).[3]
| Stage | Matchday | Player of the Week | Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | Keijiro Ogawa | Vissel Kobe | [39] |
| Matchday 2 | Teruhito Nakagawa | Yokohama F. Marinos | [40] | |
| Li Shenglong | Shanghai SIPG | [41] | ||
| Matchday 3 – East | Terry Antonis | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | [42] | |
| Song Bum-keun | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | [43] | ||
| Matchday 3 – West | Abderrazak Hamdallah | Al-Nassr | [44] | |
| Matchday 4 – East | Bill | Chiangrai United | [45] | |
| Matchday 4 – West | Khaled Ba Wazir | Sharjah | [46] | |
| Matchday 5 – East | Theerathon Bunmathan | Yokohama F. Marinos | [47] | |
| Matchday 5 – West | Caio | Sharjah | [48] | |
| Matchday 6 – East | Daiki Niwa | FC Tokyo | [49] | |
| Matchday 6 – West | Mehdi Ghayedi | Esteghlal | [50] | |
| Knockout stage | Round of 16 – East | Kim Tae-hwan | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | [51] |
| Round of 16 – West | Issa Alekasir | Persepolis | [52] | |
| Quarter-finals – East | Park Sang-hyeok | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | [53] | |
| Quarter-finals – West | Sultan Al-Ghanam | Al-Nassr | [54] | |
| Semi-finals – East | Daiya Maekawa | Vissel Kobe | [55] | |
| Semi-finals – West | Shoja' Khalilzadeh | Persepolis | [56] |
