man Al-Hilal Club of Saudi Arabia drew 1-1 with Piroozi Athletic of Iran in a Group D match of the AFC Champions League here Wednesday. A 53rd-minute goal from Mohammed Al-Shalhoub canceled out a penalty from Ali Karimi 11 minutes earlier. Osma Housawi of Al-Hilal was shown the red card in the 41st minute. Another Saudi challenger Al-Ahli suffered a setback against host Lekhwiya of Qatar 1-0 in Group C. South Korean midfielder Nam Tae-hee scored the winner in the 74th minute. Earlier, Chinese champion Guangzhou Evergrande opened its 2012 campaign with a 5-1 thrashing of 2011 finalist Jeonbuk Motors in Jeonju. In another Group H match, Thailand champion Buriram United upset J-League champion Kashiwa Reysol 3-2 in Thailand. In Group G action, Brazilian striker Everton scored the second of his two goals in the 90th minute for South Korean side Seongnam Ilhwa to salvage a 2-2 draw away to Nagoya Grampus in Japan. In Group A action, UAE champion Al-Jazira came back from an early two-goal deficit to beat Nasaf of Uzbekistan 4-2 for its first away victory in the tournament. The match was to have been played Tuesday but was postponed due to snow. Two goals from Brazilian striker Cleo and another from Argentine midfielder Dario Conca gave Guangzhou a 3-0 lead before Jeong Shung-hoon replied for the South Korean team in the 70th minute. Conca scored his second for Guangzhou two minutes later and Brazilian forward Muriqui wrapped up a convincing Group H win in the 75th. In 2011, Guangzhou kicked off the new era in China by embarking on a massive spending spree that helped the team win the domestic title for the first time and by a margin of 15 points. In Thailand, Makkharom and Askar Jadigerov scored first-half goals for Buriram before Junya Tanaka and Hiroki Sakai responded for Kashiwa. Midfielder Jirawat Makkharom scored the winner in the 77th minute. Everton, meanwhile, gave Seongnam Ilhwa a 1-0 lead two minutes after the break, but Australia striker Josh Kennedy leveled for Nagoya from the penalty spot 10 minutes later. Mu Kanazaki gave the hosts a 2-1 lead in the 73rd minute before Everton's last-gasp equalizer. In Isfahan, an 84th-minute goal from Brazilian striker Bruno Cesar Correa was enough to give Iranian league champion Foolad Sepahan a 1-0 win over UAE's Al-Nasr amid frigid temperatures in the Group C encounter. Al-Shabab of the UAE drew 0-0 with Al-Gharafa of Qatar in the other Group D match. Also in Group G, Chinese side Tianjin Teda and Central Coast Mariners of Australia drew 0-0 in China. The top two teams in each of the eight groups advance to the round of 16. Bologna holds Juventus Juventus was held to a costly 1-1 draw at Bologna Wednesday, potentially giving AC Milan a decisive advantage in the race for the Serie A title. Also, Parma drew 2-2 with Fiorentina and 10-men Cesena drew 0-0 with Catania.
