Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tianjin: Two sides will make their AFC Champions League debuts in Group E on Tuesday when China’s Tianjin Quanjian welcome Hong Kong’s Kitchee SC to Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium.
A third-place finish in the 2017 Chinese Super League saw Tianjin qualify for the AFC Champions League play-off round, where they overcame Ceres Negros of the Philippines thanks to a brace from Frenchman Anthony Modeste.
Alexandre Pato and Alex Witsel make up an exciting trio of foreigners in Paulo Sousa’s Tianjin team, who will be confident that they can shine on their first foray into Asia’s biggest club competition.
Having narrowly missed out at the play-off stage last year, Kitchee qualified for the tournament proper for the first time by winning the Hong Kong Premier League last year and become just the second team from Hong Kong to appear in the competition.
They will want to get off to a better start than their city rivals Eastern SC, whose continental debut was also a trip to China in a match that ultimately ended 7-0 to two-time winners Guangzhou Evergrande.