Lion City Sailors beat Adelaide 5-0 to move closer to ACL2 knockout stage

Lion City Sailors strengthened their bid for an Asian Champions League Two knockout berth by defeating Adelaide United 5-0 at Jalan Besar Stadium on Nov 5. Matthias Phaeton scored twice as the hosts recorded a second successive victory over the Australian club.

With four group matches played, the Sailors have 10 points, putting them three ahead of Thailand’s BG Pathum United. Adelaide sit third on six points. A draw away to Pathum on Nov 26 would guarantee the Singapore club a top-two finish and progression to the last 16.

Kick-off was delayed by 90 minutes because of a thunderstorm, but Phaeton put the hosts ahead after five minutes. Bailey Wright added a second in the 17th minute, before Kyoga Nakamura converted Lennart Thy’s flick-on in the 41st for his first Sailors goal since joining in January.

Adelaide midfielder Jay Barnett turned an Ilhan Fandi effort into his own net in the 71st minute. Phaeton scored again four minutes later, taking his tally for the club to seven goals from 11 appearances, but missed an 88th-minute penalty.

The result extended the Sailors’ winning streak to seven matches across all competitions, with 26 goals scored and six clean sheets during that run. It was their largest victory in Asian Football Confederation competition, bettering their 4-0 win against Muangthong United in February 2025.

Sailors coach Mark Jackson said he was pleased with his players’ clinical finishing and wanted the team to progress as far as possible. Adelaide coach Airton Andrioli said the margin was disappointing and his side needed to take responsibility.