# 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite league stage

The 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite league stage was played from 16 September 2024 to 19 February 2025.
This was the first season with a single-league format for each region, which replaced the group format used until the previous season.

## Draw

The draw for the league stage took place on 16 August at the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

### Seeding

For each region, the title holder or the highest seeded team from each member association involved were allocated into Pot 1, while the remaining teams were allocated into Pot 2.
| Region | Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
| West Region | Al Ain (ACL) Al-Hilal (KSA 1) Al-Sadd (QAT 1) Persepolis (IRN 1) Pakhtakor (UZB 1) Al-Shorta (IRQ 1) | Al-Nassr (KSA 2) Al-Rayyan (QAT 2) Esteghlal (IRN 2) Al Wasl (UAE 1) Al-Ahli (KSA 3) Al-Gharafa (QAT 3) |
| East Region | Vissel Kobe (JPN 1) Ulsan HD (KOR 1) Shanghai Port (CHN 1) Buriram United (THA 1) Central Coast Mariners (AUS 1) Johor Darul Ta'zim (MAS 1) | Kawasaki Frontale (JPN 2) Pohang Steelers (KOR 2) Shanghai Shenhua (CHN 2) Yokohama F. Marinos (JPN 3) Gwangju (KOR 3) Shandong Taishan (CHN 3) |

### Grid Result

Each team was drawn a position in the draw grid for their region: column A–C for West and D–F for East. Teams from Pot 1 were drawn into positions 1 or 2 while teams from Pot 2 were drawn into positions 3 or 4.
Each position had pre-determined matchups as part of a pairings grid. Teams in each column played matches with the other columns in each region.
| Column | A | B | C | D | E | F |
| Number | West Region | West Region | West Region | East Region | East Region | East Region |
| 1 | Pakhtakor | Al-Sadd | Persepolis | Ulsan HD | Shanghai Port | Johor Darul Ta'zim |
| 2 | Al-Hilal | Al-Shorta | Al Ain | Central Coast Mariners | Buriram United | Vissel Kobe |
| 3 | Al-Nassr | Al-Rayyan | Esteghlal | Pohang Steelers | Shandong Taishan | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| 4 | Al-Ahli | Al-Gharafa | Al Wasl | Gwangju | Shanghai Shenhua | Kawasaki Frontale |

## Schedule

The schedule of the league stage was as follows.
| Round | Dates (West region) | Dates (East region) |
| Matchday 1 | 16–17 September 2024 | 17–18 September 2024 |
| Matchday 2 | 30 September–1 October 2024 | 1–2 October 2024 |
| Matchday 3 | 21–22 October 2024 | 22–23 October 2024 |
| Matchday 4 | 4–5 November 2024 | 5–6 November 2024 |
| Matchday 5 | 25–26 November 2024 | 26–27 November 2024 |
| Matchday 6 | 2–3 December 2024 | 3–4 December 2024 |
| Matchday 7 | 3–4 February 2025 | 11–12 February 2025 |
| Matchday 8 | 17–18 February 2025 | 18–19 February 2025 |

## League stage

The detailed schedule was announced on 16 August 2024 after the draw ceremony.

### West Region

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Al-Hilal | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 7 | +17 | 22 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 2 | Al-Ahli | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 8 | +15 | 22 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 3 | Al-Nassr | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 17 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 4 | Al-Sadd | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 12 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 5 | Al Wasl | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 11 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 6 | Esteghlal | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 9 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 7 | Al-Rayyan | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −4 | 8 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 8 | Pakhtakor | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 7 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 9 | Persepolis | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 7 | |
| 10 | Al-Gharafa | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 18 | −8 | 7 | |
| 11 | Al-Shorta | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 17 | −10 | 6 | |
| 12 | Al Ain | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 22 | −11 | 2 | |

#### Results summary

Matchday 1 :
| Home team | Score | Away team |
| Al Ain | 1–1 | Al-Sadd |
| Al-Shorta | 1–1 | Al-Nassr |
| Esteghlal | 3–0 | Al-Gharafa |
| Al-Ahli | 1–0 | Persepolis |
| Pakhtakor | 0–1 | Al Wasl |
| Al-Rayyan | 1–3 | Al-Hilal |
Matchday 2 :
| Home team | Score | Away team |
| Al-Sadd | 2–0 | Esteghlal |
| Persepolis | 1–1 | Pakhtakor |
| Al Wasl | 0–2 | Al-Ahli |
| Al-Nassr | 2–1 | Al-Rayyan |
| Al-Gharafa | 4–2 | Al Ain |
| Al-Hilal | 5–0 | Al-Shorta |
Matchday 3 :
| Home team | Score | Away team |
| Al-Shorta | 0–0 | Pakhtakor |
| Al-Sadd | 1–0 | Persepolis |
| Al Ain | 4–5 | Al-Hilal |
| Al-Rayyan | 1–2 | Al-Ahli |
| Esteghlal | 0–1 | Al-Nassr |
| Al-Gharafa | 1–2 | Al Wasl |
Matchday 4 :
| Home team | Score | Away team |
| Al Wasl | 1–1 | Al-Sadd |
| Al-Ahli | 5–1 | Al-Shorta |
| Persepolis | 1–1 | Al-Gharafa |
| Al-Hilal | 3–0 | Esteghlal |
| Pakhtakor | 0–1 | Al-Rayyan |
| Al-Nassr | 5–1 | Al Ain |
Matchday 5 :
| Home team | Score | Away team |
| Al Ain | 1–2 | Al-Ahli |
| Esteghlal | 0–0 | Pakhtakor |
| Al-Gharafa | 1–3 | Al-Nassr |
| Al-Rayyan | 1–1 | Persepolis |
| Al-Shorta | 1–3 | Al Wasl |
| Al-Sadd | 1–1 | Al-Hilal |
Matchday 6 :
| Home team | Score | Away team |
| Persepolis | 2–1 | Al-Shorta |
| Al-Ahli | 2–2 | Esteghlal |
| Al Wasl | 1–1 | Al-Rayyan |
| Al-Nassr | 1–2 | Al-Sadd |
| Pakhtakor | 1–1 | Al Ain |
| Al-Hilal | 3–0 | Al-Gharafa |
Matchday 7 :
| Home team | Score | Away team |
| Al Ain | 1–2 | Al-Rayyan |
| Esteghlal | 1–1 | Al-Shorta |
| Al-Sadd | 1–3 | Al-Ahli |
| Al-Nassr | 4–0 | Al Wasl |
| Al-Gharafa | 1–0 | Pakhtakor |
| Al-Hilal | 4–1 | Persepolis |
Matchday 8 :
| Home team | Score | Away team |
| Pakhtakor | 2–1 | Al-Sadd |
| Al-Shorta | 2–0 | Al Ain |
| Persepolis | 0–0 | Al-Nassr |
| Al-Ahli | 4–2 | Al-Gharafa |
| Al-Rayyan | 0–2 | Esteghlal |
| Al Wasl | 0–2 | Al-Hilal |

#### Matches
##### Matchday 8
### East Region

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 7 | +14 | 18 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 2 | Kawasaki Frontale | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 4 | +9 | 15 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 3 | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 14 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 4 | Gwangju | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 9 | +6 | 14 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 5 | Vissel Kobe | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 9 | +5 | 13 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 6 | Buriram United | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 12 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 7 | Shanghai Shenhua | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 10 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 8 | Shanghai Port | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 18 | −8 | 8 | Advance to round of 16 |
| 9 | Pohang Steelers | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 17 | −8 | 6 | |
| 10 | Ulsan HD | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 16 | −12 | 3 | |
| 11 | Central Coast Mariners | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 18 | −10 | 1 | |
| 12 | Shandong Taishan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrawn |
* ↑ Shandong Taishan were considered withdrawn from the AFC Champions League Elite after the club confirmed that it did not intend to report for their league stage match against Ulsan HD on 19 February 2025.

#### Results summary

Matchday 1 :
| Home team | Score | Away team |
| Gwangju | 7–3 | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| Shandong Taishan | 3–1 | Central Coast Mariners |
| Buriram United | 0–0 | Vissel Kobe |
| Shanghai Shenhua | 4–1 | Pohang Steelers |
| Ulsan HD | 0–1 | Kawasaki Frontale |
| Shanghai Port | 2–2 | Johor Darul Ta'zim |
Matchday 2 :
| Home team | Score | Away team |
| Central Coast Mariners | 1–2 | Buriram United |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 0–1 | Gwangju |
| Pohang Steelers | 3–0 | Shanghai Port |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | 3–0 | Shanghai Shenhua |
| Vissel Kobe | 2–1 | Shandong Taishan |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 4–0 | Ulsan HD |
Matchday 3 :
| Home team | Score | Away team |
| Gwangju | 3–1 | Johor Darul Ta'zim |
| Shanghai Port | 3–2 | Central Coast Mariners |
| Shandong Taishan | 2–2 | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| Buriram United | 1–0 | Pohang Steelers |
| Ulsan HD | 0–2 | Vissel Kobe |
| Shanghai Shenhua | 2–0 | Kawasaki Frontale |
Matchday 4 :
| Home team | Score | Away team |
| Central Coast Mariners | 2–2 | Shanghai Shenhua |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 3–1 | Shanghai Port |
| Vissel Kobe | 2–0 | Gwangju |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | 3–0 | Ulsan HD |
| Pohang Steelers | 4–2 | Shandong Taishan |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 5–0 | Buriram United |
Matchday 5 :
| Home team | Score | Away team |
| Vissel Kobe | 3–2 | Central Coast Mariners |
| Ulsan HD | 1–3 | Shanghai Port |
| Shandong Taishan | 1–0 | Johor Darul Ta'zim |
| Buriram United | 0–3 | Kawasaki Frontale |
| Gwangju | 1–0 | Shanghai Shenhua |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 2–0 | Pohang Steelers |
Matchday 6 :
| Home team | Score | Away team |
| Central Coast Mariners | 0–4 | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| Pohang Steelers | 3–1 | Vissel Kobe |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | 0–0 | Buriram United |
| Shanghai Port | 1–1 | Gwangju |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 4–0 | Shandong Taishan |
| Shanghai Shenhua | 1–2 | Ulsan HD |
Matchday 7 :
| Home team | Score | Away team |
| Central Coast Mariners | 1–2 | Johor Darul Ta'zim |
| Vissel Kobe | 4–0 | Shanghai Port |
| Pohang Steelers | 0–4 | Kawasaki Frontale |
| Shandong Taishan | 3–1 | Gwangju |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 1–0 | Shanghai Shenhua |
| Buriram United | 2–1 | Ulsan HD |
Matchday 8 :
| Home team | Score | Away team |
| Gwangju | 2–2 | Buriram United |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 2–0 | Central Coast Mariners |
| Shanghai Shenhua | 4–2 | Vissel Kobe |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | 5–2 | Pohang Steelers |
| Ulsan HD | Canc. | Shandong Taishan |
| Shanghai Port | 0–2 | Yokohama F. Marinos |