Kuala Lumpur: Godwin Mensha has been named the Toyota Player of the Week after the striker netted a brace in Persepolis’ 2-2 draw with Al Hilal in the AFC Champions League semi-final second leg on Tuesday.
Unfortunately for the 28-year-old Nigerian and his side, the 4-0 deficit from the first meeting in Abu Dhabi proved too big an obstacle to overcome despite the best efforts of Mensha who twice put Persepolis ahead on the night in Muscat.
The man from Lagos, who gained a rating of 9.2, had 56 touches, made 32 successful passes and scored his brace from just five shots on goal, three of which were on target.
Second on this week’s list is Urawa Red Diamonds goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa who kept a cleansheet as the 2007 champions defeated Shanghai SIPG 1-0 on Wednesday to return to the AFC Champions League final, a decade since they first reached the competition’s climax.
In addition to his cleansheet, Nishikawa made six saves with a 100% save accuracy and completed 30 passes to score a rating of 9.2.
Omar Khribin comes in at third on the Toyota Player of the Week list with a rating of 9.0 after the forward netted yet another his eighth and ninth goals of the competition as Al Hilal progressed to their second AFC Champions League final after finishing runners up in the 2014 edition.
Syria international Khribin scored a hat-trick in the first leg last month to be named Toyota Player of the Week, and he showed impressive finishing in Muscat with his two goals coming from two shots on target.
Urawa defender Wataru Endo is next on the list after scoring an 8.2 rating. The Japan international made five interceptions and eight clearances, while also touching the ball 63 times.
Rounding off the top five is Al Hilal forward Carlos Eduardo who created three chances and gained a 7.9 rating. The Brazilian also had 83 touches and made 53 passes. With seven goals, Carlos Eduardo is also in the running for AFC Champions League Top Scorer, just two behind team-mate Khribin.
Two more Al Hilal players fill the sixth and seventh spots of the Toyota Player of the Week: Salman Al Faraj (7.6) and Salem Al Dawsari (7.4). Al Faraj completed an impressive 82 passes while touching the ball 107 times, while Al Dawsari contributed an assist for Khribin’s second of the night.
And completing the top eight is Shanghai SIPG midfielder Odil Ahmedov who boasted an impressive 91% pass accuracy and touched the ball 91 times to register a 6.5 rating.
Photos: Lagardère Sports
Source: the-afc.com