Wu Lei's Hat-Trick Powers Shanghai Port; Asian Football Highlights

Wu Lei's hat-trick helped Shanghai Port retain their lead in the Chinese Super League. Other highlights include Machida Zelvia's win in Japan and Ulsan's fall in South Korea. World Cup qualifiers draw sees Japan among tough competition in their group.

Talking points from the week in Asian football:

WU LEI HAT-TRICK KEEPS PORT TWO POINTS CLEAR IN CSL Wu Lei scored a hat-trick as Chinese Super League champions Shanghai Port maintained their two-point lead over Shanghai Shenhua with a 3-1 win over Zhejiang FC on Saturday.

China international Wu saw his opening 19th minute effort cancelled out by Leonardo before scoring twice in the second half to secure the points. Wu Xi's stoppage-time winner earned Shanghai Shenhua a 1-0 victory over Qingdao West Coast.

MACHIDA REGISTER COMEBACK WIN TO INCREASE LEAD IN JAPAN Machida Zelvia extended their lead in Japan to five points with a 3-1 win over Gamba Osaka as nearest challengers Kashima Antlers lost to Vissel Kobe by the same scoreline.

Machida fell behind to Welton Felipe's early goal but fought back to take the win through goals from Mitchell Duke, Shota Fujio and Keiya Sento. KOREAN CHAMPIONS ULSAN DROP TO SECOND AFTER DEFEAT BY POHANG

South Korean defending champions Ulsan HD lost top spot to Gimcheon Sangmu after a 2-1 defeat by Pohang Steelers on Sunday. Hong Yun-sang and Lee Ho-jae struck inside the opening 19 minutes as Pohang handed Ulsan a fourth defeat of the season.

Gimcheon claimed first place off the back of a 2-0 win over Daegu FC, which came through late goals from Choi Gi-yun and Park Sang-hyeok. JAPAN TO FACE SAUDI, AUSTRALIA IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

Japan will face familiar foes in the third round of Asia's 2026 World Cup qualifiers after they were drawn to take on Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China and Indonesia. South Korea will meet Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait in Group B while Iran take on Qatar, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea in Group A.

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