Urawa Red Diamonds beats Shanghai SIPG 1-0 in AFC Champions League

Urawa Red Diamonds advanced to the final of this year's AFC Champions League after beating Shanghai SIPG 1-0 here in the second leg of their semifinals on Wednesday.

Silva headed in the only goal of the game in the 11th minute, firing up hope for the home side which only needed a draw to reach the final after a 1-1 draw in Shanghai last month.

Although Shanghai largely dominated in the later half, they were unable to break through the strong defense of the home team which went through 2-1 on aggregate.

Shanghai SIPG's Hulk of Brazil, center right, and Urawa Reds' Tomoaki Makino, center left, vie for the ball in the second leg of their Asian Champions League semifinal soccer match in Saitama, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. [Photo: AP]

"Their strategy worked and my strategy didn't work. It's very simple," said coach Andre Villas-Boas of Shanghai SIPG after the game.

He added that Urawa played very well in defense, and Shanghai made a few mistakes in passes in the first half, and failed to create enough chances to score in the second half.

"After a 1-1 draw in Shanghai in the first leg, we can reach the final even with a goalless draw today. So our strategy is not to lose a goal today," said Yuki Abe, captain of Urawa Red Diamonds.

"Luckily, we scored a goal in the first half, and we were able not to lose a goal later. I feel glad for that," he added.

Urawa Reds' Rafael da Silva, center, scores a goal against Shanghai SIPG's goalkeeper Yang Junling in the second leg of their Asian Champions League semifinal soccer match in Saitama, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. [Photo: AP]

Takafumi Hori, head coach of Urawa Red Diamonds, said that the home team played defense as a whole, especially against those Shanghai players with strong attacking power at the frontal line.

"But we should 've stopped them even before they reached the frontal line, which is what we need to improve in the future," he said.

It was the first time for Urawa Red Diamonds to reach final since winning the tournament in 2007. The Reds will play Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the two-leg final of AFC Champions League on Nov. 18 and 25.