2011 AFC Champions League group stage

A total of 32 teams, 16 from West Asia and 16 from East Asia, competed in the 2011 AFC Champions League group stage. They included 30 direct entries and 2 winners of the qualifying play-off (one from West Asia and one from East Asia).

The draw for the group stage was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 7 December 2010.^[1] The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. Clubs from the same country may not be drawn into the same group.^[2]

In each group, teams played each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The matchdays were 1–2 March, 15–16 March, 5–6 April, 19–20 April, 3–4 May, and 10–11 May 2011.^[3]

The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the knockout stage.^[4]

The clubs are ranked according to points and tie breakers are in following order:^[4]

1. Greater number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
2. Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
3. Greater number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned; (Away goals do not apply)
4. Goal difference in all the group matches;
5. Greater number of goals scored in all the group matches;
6. Kicks from the penalty mark if only two teams are involved and they are both on the field of play;
7. Fewer score calculated according to the number of yellow and red cards received in the group matches; (1 point for each yellow card, 3 points for each red card as a consequence of two yellow cards, 3 points for each direct red card, 4 points for each yellow card followed by a direct red card)
8. Drawing of lots.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SEP	HIL	GHA	JAZ
1	Sepahan	6	4	1	1	14	5	+9	13[a]	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–1	2–0	5–1
2	Al-Hilal	6	4	1	1	11	6	+5	13[a]			1–2	—	2–0	3–1
3	Al-Gharafa	6	2	1	3	6	7	−1	7			1–0	0–1	—	5–2
4	Al-Jazira	6	0	1	5	7	20	−13	1			1–4	2–3	0–0	—

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SAD	NAS	EST	PAK
1	Al-Sadd	6	2	4	0	8	6	+2	10	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–0	2–2	2–1
2	Al-Nassr	6	2	2	2	10	7	+3	8[a]			1–1	—	2–1	4–0
3	Esteghlal	6	2	2	2	11	10	+1	8[a]			1–1	2–1	—	4–2
4	Pakhtakor	6	1	2	3	8	14	−6	5			1–1	2–2	2–1	—

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ITT	BUN	WAH	PER
1	Al-Ittihad Jeddah	6	3	2	1	10	5	+5	11	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–1	0–0	3–1
2	Bunyodkor	6	2	3	1	8	6	+2	9			0–1	—	3–2	0–0
3	Al-Wahda	6	1	3	2	6	8	−2	6			0–3	1–1	—	2–0
4	Persepolis	6	1	2	3	6	11	−5	5			3–2	1–3	1–1	—

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ZOB	SHA	EMI	RAY
1	Zob Ahan	6	4	1	1	7	3	+4	13	Advance to knockout stage		—	0–1	2–1	1–0
2	Al-Shabab	6	3	2	1	8	4	+4	11			0–0	—	4–1	1–0
3	Emirates	6	2	0	4	6	10	−4	6			0–1	2–1	—	2–0
4	Al-Rayyan	6	1	1	4	4	8	−4	4			1–3	1–1	2–0	—

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		GAM	TIA	JEJ	MEL
1	Gamba Osaka	6	3	1	2	13	7	+6	10[a]	Advance to knockout stage		—	2–0	3–1	5–1
2	Tianjin Teda	6	3	1	2	8	6	+2	10[a]			2–1	—	3–0	1–1
3	Jeju United	6	2	1	3	6	10	−4	7			2–1	0–1	—	1–1
4	Melbourne Victory	6	1	3	2	7	11	−4	6			1–1	2–1	1–2	—

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SEO	NAG	AIN	HAN
1	FC Seoul	6	3	2	1	9	4	+5	11	Advance to knockout stage		—	0–2	3–0	3–0
2	Nagoya Grampus	6	3	1	2	9	6	+3	10			1–1	—	4–0	1–0
3	Al-Ain	6	2	1	3	4	9	−5	7			0–1	3–1	—	1–0
4	Hangzhou Greentown	6	1	2	3	3	6	−3	5			1–1	2–0	0–0	—

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Notes

• Note 1: Nagoya Grampus v Al-Ain postponed from 15 March 2011 to 12 April 2011 due to earthquake in Japan.^[5][6]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		JEO	CER	SHL	ARE
1	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	6	5	0	1	14	2	+12	15	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–0	1–0	6–0
2	Cerezo Osaka	6	4	0	2	11	4	+7	12			1–0	—	4–0	2–1
3	Shandong Luneng	6	2	1	3	9	8	+1	7			1–2	2–0	—	5–0
4	Arema	6	0	1	5	2	22	−20	1			0–4	0–4	1–1	—

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Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SUW	KSH	SYD	SHS
1	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	6	3	3	0	12	3	+9	12[a]	Advance to knockout stage		—	1–1	3–1	4–0
2	Kashima Antlers	6	3	3	0	9	3	+6	12[a]			1–1	—	2–1	2–0
3	Sydney FC	6	1	2	3	6	11	−5	5			0–0	0–3	—	1–1
4	Shanghai Shenhua	6	0	2	4	3	13	−10	2			0–3	0–0	2–3	—

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Notes

• Note 2: The Kashima Antlers v Sydney FC match was postponed from 16 March 2011 to 10 May 2011 due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan.^[5] The return match, Sydney FC v Kashima Antlers, was brought forward from 10 May 2011 to 13 April 2011.^[7] All home matches of the Kashima Antlers were moved to the National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo as the Kashima Soccer Stadium in Kashima was damaged in the earthquake.

• AFC Champions League Official Page (in English)