Urawa Red Diamonds took a big step towards the 2019 AFC Champions League final after defeating Guangzhou Evergrande 2-0 in the first leg of the semi-finals at Saitama Stadium. Fabricio put Urawa ahead 19 minutes into the game and Sekine doubled his side's lead in the 75th minute to give Tsuyoshi Otsuki's team a significant advantage ahead of the second leg at Guangzhou's Tianhe Stadium on October 23.