KOBE, Japan — Vissel Kobe beat South Korea’s Ulsan HD 1-0 to move to the top of the East zone in the Asian Champions League Elite on Wednesday.

Brazilian midfielder Jean Patric scored the only goal just before the hour mark against the two-time champion, which slipped to fourth place.

“We played soccer that is typical of Kobe,” Vissel coach Takayuki Yoshida said. “We got the goal we needed and while we were pushed back at the end, the whole team was able to unite and defend and we took the points. There is still a long way to go.”

Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim moved into third with a 3-1 victory over Shanghai Shenhua.

Chinese teams are struggling: Shenhua, Shanghai Port and Chengdu Rongcheng occupying the bottom three places of the 12-team group. The 24 teams are divided into two geogr

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