Brisbane Roar head coach John Aloisi hailed the influence of the "brilliant" Chanathip Songkrasin after the Muang Thong United playmaker helped the Thai champions reach the knockout stages of the AFC Champions League (ACL) for the first time in their history.
Chanathip produced a wonderful late solo effort to kill off the spirited challenge of Brisbane's youthful side in a 3-0 home victory on Wednesday night. "Messi J" also picked up his third man-of the-match award in five games as the J.League-bound player continues to impress in his first ACL campaign.
"He's a brilliant player," Aloisi told ESPN FC. "We knew that, and we've seen him not only with Muang Thong, but with the national team. He's an exciting talent, and he can turn a game on its head at times by beating players.
"Even if you're well organised, he beats a player, and all of a sudden you become open. That's what he's capable of doing. We knew that he was going to be dangerous against us."
Aloisi admitted that the Thai side had become stronger as the game went on after a tight first half.
"It was pretty even until half-time," said Aloisi. "I think we had some good chances in the first half and maybe we could have gone a goal up, but, in the end, Muang Thong were too strong for us. We congratulate them and wish them all the best in the next round."
The former Socceroo felt it was too early to say how far the Kirins might go in the tournament. But he believes the Thai climate may give them an advantage.
"Muang Thong can definitely do well," said Aloisi. "They've got an advantage over teams from most other countries because of the conditions that they play in. So when they play at home in the knockout stages, they should be hoping to get wins, and put pressure on the opposition.
"I hope for Thai football that they go a long way. They haven't surprised me, but they have surprised a lot of people by progressing to the next stage."
Chanathip was typically modest when asked about his exploits.
"Everyone, including the coach, my teammates and the fans came together to earn this win," said Chanathip. "In this tournament, our tactics have changed depending on the opponent, but we have stayed focused throughout. We were all very driven to reach the next round."
Regarding his stunning strike and individual award, Chanathip said, "When I went through on goal, I wasn't confident enough to shoot, so I dribbled it past the goalkeeper. The man-of-the-match award gives me more motivation to keep developing as a player."
Full-back Tristan Do gave another fine performance down the right, including creating the first goal for Xisco Jimenez.
"We knew that we needed a victory tonight and that was always our aim," Do told ESPN FC. "It was a bit tight at the start of the game, but we got the opening goal at a good time. That helped us to take control of the game, and of course, the two goals at the end sealed the victory.
Great win yesterday✌⚽ #adidasfootball ��#พี่ยุ้ย
A post shared by Kawin Thamsatchanan (@kawiator_26) on
"It doesn't matter who get in the next round. Once you are out of the group, you have to take it match by match and we're happy to play any of the other teams."
Do admitted that the departure of Chanathip for Consadole Sapporo in the J.League would be hard for the team after the influence he has had during the campaign.
"He's our best attacking player and an exceptional talent, so of course, we will miss him when he leaves," said Do.
Former Newcastle United striker Xisco headed in the all-important opener, and was delighted to see his team make history.
"It is very special for all of us because I think only Theerathon -- at Buriram -- has reached he next stage of this tournament before," Xisco told ESPN FC.
"It has been very difficult because there were strong teams in our group, but I think we did a great job, and performed well in every game. We are still unbeaten and we deserve our success because we work hard and fight a lot and now we have our reward."
Muang Thong United march on, while the much-travelled Brisbane Roar return to Australia and onto another big game as they face Melbourne Victory in Sunday's A-League semifinal.