Alan scored a second-half brace to guide Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande to the 2018 AFC Champions League Knockout Stage with a thrilling 3-1 victory over Japan's Cerezo Osaka on Tuesday. 

As the top three teams in Group G – Evergrande, Osaka, and Buriram United were in the contention to make it to the second round ahead of their respective final group league matches on Tuesday, the Chinese club needed a win against their Japanese rivals at Tianhe Stadium.

Coming out firing on all cylinders, they almost drew the first blood soon after the kick-off as Nemanja Gudelj came close in just the second minute. However, the Chinese side didn’t have to wait much as Huang Bowen scored the opener in the sixth minute, much to the delight of the home crowd.

However, Fabio Cannavaro's side couldn't hang on to their lead for long as Osaka's Takaki Fukumitsu broke the offside trap and leveled it to 1-1. Jolted by the equalizer, the hosts intensified their attack after failing to break the deadlock in the first half. It was Evergrande’s in-form striker Alan who put the home side ahead in the second half before the Brazilian scored again to finish off the match five minutes from time.

Meanwhile, another AFC Champions League encounter on Tuesday night saw Chinese club, Shanghai Shenhua, bowing out of the tournament after playing a timid goalless draw against Sydney FC in Sydney.