Soccer-The week in Asian football

Talking points from the week in Asian football: AL-HILAL CONTINUE RECORD RUN WITH VICTORY OVER AL-KHALEEJ Brazilian forward Malcom scored twice as Al-Hilal notched up their 32nd consecutive victory in all competitions with a 4-1 win over Al-Khaleej in the Saudi Pro League. Saleh Al-Shehri's seventh minute opener for Al-Hilal was cancelled out by Mohamed Sherif's header two minutes later before Malcom restored the visitors' lead in the 42nd minute when he slotted into the bottom corner.

Talking points from the week in Asian football:

AL-HILAL CONTINUE RECORD RUN WITH VICTORY OVER AL-KHALEEJ Brazilian forward Malcom scored twice as Al-Hilal notched up their 32nd consecutive victory in all competitions with a 4-1 win over Al-Khaleej in the Saudi Pro League.

Saleh Al-Shehri's seventh minute opener for Al-Hilal was cancelled out by Mohamed Sherif's header two minutes later before Malcom restored the visitors' lead in the 42nd minute when he slotted into the bottom corner. Malcom was on target again three minutes after the restart with a spectacular left-foot volley and Abdullah Al-Hamddan completed the scoring from the penalty spot in added time to keep Al-Hilal 12 points clear of Al-Nassr.

CENTRAL COAST DOWN WELLINGTON TO TAKE TOP SPOT IN AUSTRALIA Brazilian Mikael Doka scored in the first minute of added time to earn Central Coast Mariners a 2-1 win over Wellington Phoenix that took them top of the A-League.

Doka struck from the edge of the area to earn the Mariners victory in the top of the table clash after Wellington's Ben Old had cancelled out Angel Torres' opener for the home side. Both sides are on 46 points from 24 matches, with Central Coast holding first place due to their greater number of victories.

MACHIDA SURVIVE TANI RED CARD TO STAY TOP IN JAPAN Machida Zelvia held on to top spot in Japan with a 1-0 win over Kawasaki Frontale on Saturday despite playing the final 19 minutes with only 10 men following goalkeeper Kosei Tani's sending off.

Shota Fujio gave the newly promoted side the lead in the 32nd minute, with Tani dismissed in the 71st minute. Machida are a point clear of Sanfrecce Hiroshima, who beat Shonan Bellmare 2-0, and Cerezo Osaka, who defeated Albirex Niigata 1-0. Defending champions Vissel Kobe, in fourth spot, lost 2-1 to the Harry Kewell-coached Yokohama F Marinos.

LATE TEIXEIRA GOAL MAINTAINS PERFECT SHANGHAI SHENHUA START Joao Teixeira scored nine minutes into added time to ensure Shanghai Shenhua maintained their perfect start to the new Chinese Super League campaign with a 2-1 win over Changchun Yatai on Friday.

Shenhua lead the standings by three points from Chengdu Rongcheng, who won 3-2 against Tianjin Tiger, while defending champions Shanghai Port are third and a point further back following their 2-2 draw with Beijing Guoan. POHANG RETAIN TOP SPOT AFTER LATE GOALS DOWN DAEJEON CITIZEN

Pohang Steelers stayed top in South Korea after late goals from Kim In-sung and Jeong Jae-hee gave them a 2-1 win over Daejeon Citizen on Sunday. Leandro Ribeiro's 46th-minute header had put the home side in front but Kim levelled in the 82nd minute when he charged down Hong Jeong-un's attempted back-pass.

Jeong swept his shot home in the third minute of added time to earn Pohang the three points and keep his side a point clear of Gimcheon Sangmu, who won 2-1 against Gwangju FC.

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