Thailand’s Buriram United and Công An Hà Nội FC of Vietnam are all set to battle each other in the final of the inaugural ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™, with the two-legged title clash to be played on 14 and 21 May.
As we build towards the much-anticipated finale of the Shopee Cup™, ASEAN United FC takes a look at how Buriram, champions of Thailand, made it this far in Southeast Asia’s premier club competition.
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Having made it to the first-ever Shopee Cup™ by virtue of winning the 2022–23 Thai League Cup, Buriram United did not have the best of starts to the competition after suffering a 2-1 defeat at the hands of eventual finalists Công An Hà Nội FC in their opening match in Group B in Hanoi.
But Osmar Loss’ side bounced back in stunning fashion as they overcame Kaya FC-Iloilo of the Philippines 7-0 in their first match in front of their supporters at Buriram Stadium, with Brazilian attacker Lucas Crispim bagging a hat-trick.
A 4-0 win against Indonesia’s Borneo FC Samarinda on Matchday Three was followed by a goalless draw against Lion City Sailors FC in Singapore, meaning that the Thai League 1 side needed to win their final group fixture against Kuala Lumpur City FC to guarantee a place in the knockout stage.
Crispim’s first-half strike proved to be the only goal of the game in Buriram as the Thunder Castle booked a place in the semi-finals as Group B runners-up with their 10-point haul from five matches seeing them finish five points behind group winners Công An.
Semi-Finals
Fellow Thai side BG Pathum United were their opponents in the semi-finals after the Rabbits won Group A with 11 points – one point clear of runners-up PSM Makassar of Indonesia.
Hosting the unbeaten BG Pathum in the first leg of the semi-finals, Buriram took the lead through Supachai Chaided before Ilhan Fandi levelled the proceedings early in the second half. Pansa Hemviboon then pulled the hosts ahead before a stunning strike from Guilherme Bissoli sealed a 3-1 victory for the Thunder Castle.
Carrying a two-goal advantage into the return leg, Buriram dominated the first half without increasing their lead before closing out the goalless stalemate to book their spot in the Shopee Cup™ finale.
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