WATCH: Record signing Alex Teixeira starts paying back his transfer fee as Jiangsu beat Jeonbuk in AFC Champions League
China’s big spenders get off the mark with 3-2 win over Koreans – but fellow big name Ramires is sent off
China’s record signing Alex Teixeira helped kick-start Jiangsu Suning’s AFC Champions League campaign on Tuesday as the big spenders got off the mark with a tense 3-2 win over Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.
Teixeira started to repay his giant 50 million euros ($54.4 million) transfer fee from Shakhtar Donetsk as he grabbed the opener in what became Jiangsu’s first win of the tournament.
Former Manchester City forward Jo also got on the scoresheet, but Jiangsu’s victory came at a cost as ex-Chelsea midfielder Ramires saw red during an injury-time melee.
The well-heeled Chinese side were held by Vietnam’s Binh Duong in their opening game but it was a different story at home as their expensive new strike-force started to gel.
One-time Liverpool target Teixeira ran at a backpedalling defence and fired in at the near post to open the scoring on 16 minutes, only for Lee Dong-Gook to equalise just after the hour-mark.
However, there were some nervy moments for Jiangsu when towering striker Kim Shin-Wook nodded Jeonbuk’s second to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Ramires got his marching orders after a shoving match in stoppage time but Jiangsu held on – much to the relief of their animated coach Dan Petrescu – to top Group E.