The week in Asian football

Talking points from the week in Asian football:

SHENHUA BATTLE BACK FROM THREE GOALS DOWN TO EARN DRAW

Shanghai Shenhua maintained their four point lead in the Chinese Super League despite being held to a 4-4 draw by Yunan Yukun on Saturday.

Leonid Slutsky's side were three goals behind inside the opening 33 minutes and 4-2 down by the 65th minute, but Shenhua's second-half fightback was completed with nine minutes remaining when Andres Luis hit the equaliser.

Defending champions Shanghai Port are second following their 4-2 win over Meizhou Hakka and Chengdu Rongcheng are third after a 2-1 win over 10-man Shandong Taishan. Beijing Guoan drew 2-2 with Tianjin Tiger on Sunday, dropping from second to fourth position.

ULSAN SLIP TO SUWON DEFEAT AS TITLE WINNER KIM DEPARTS

Defending champions Ulsan HD slipped to a 3-2 loss to Suwon FC on Sunday in Kim Pan-gon's final game as the club's head coach.

Kim, who led Ulsan to the K-League title last year after replacing Hong Myung-bo in July, parted company with Ulsan by mutual consent due to the club's faltering form throughout 2025.

Brazilian forward Willyan scored the winner for Suwon in the 70th minute and the result leaves Ulsan in seventh, 23 points adrift of league leaders Jeonbuk Motors, who were not in action over the weekend.

LISTON COLACO HITS DOUBLE AS MOHUN BAGAN DOWN MOHAMMEDAN SC

Mohun Bagan Super Giant made a winning start to the Durand Cup on Thursday with a 3-1 victory over Mohammedan SC in Group B.

Liston Colaco scored twice for Mohun Bagan, including a 95th minute penalty, and the 17-time winners trail early group leaders Diamond Harbour after their 8-1 thrashing of Border Security Force.

Reigning champions Northeast United launched their defence of the trophy in Asia's oldest tournament with a 3-1 win over ATM FA.

SOUSA NAMED NEW KUWAIT COACH AFTER PIZZI'S DEPARTURE

Portugal's Helio Sousa has taken over as head coach of Kuwait, replacing Juan Antonio Pizzi after the Argentinian's contract expired.

Sousa was previously in charge of Bahrain, who he led to the West Asian Football Federation Championship title and the Gulf Cup crown in 2019.

Kuwait most recently featured in the third phase of Asia's preliminaries for the 2026 World Cup but finished bottom of their group to miss out on a place in the finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico. REUTERS