AFC Champions League: Hong Kong treble winners Kitchee lose opening game in South Korea, despite stunning Severo leveller
- Kitchee suffer early-goal blow and concede again soon after Mikael Severo equaliser
- Hong Kong champions have two home matches next month to keep campaign alive
Alex Chu Chi-kwong has repeatedly talked up the importance of a strong AFC Champions League campaign for Kitchee this season.
The Hong Kong champions will need to significantly improve after a largely anaemic opening performance in Group F against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, which they lost 2-1, for the head coach to get his wish.
Mikael Severo, who scored a 56th-minute equaliser with an overhead kick that was a triumph of imagination and technique, provided the lone moment of quality.
The home side, who went ahead after just six minutes, needed only five to restore their lead, with Han Kyo-won capitalising on a generous deflection to send a shot skidding into the corner.
Jeonbuk are without a win in five matches in domestic football. But the South Koreans seized the chance to repair their fragile confidence at a sparsely-populated, rain-sodden Jeonju World Cup Stadium.
They had some help though, with centre-back Hong Jeong-ho granted the freedom of the penalty area to head Jun Amano’s free-kick into Paulo Cesar’s top corner.