BANGKOK – Kitchee SC scored an injury-time equaliser to become the first Hong Kong team ever to reach the AFC Champions League knock-out round yesterday after a 2-2 draw with Vissel Kobe.
Kitchee needed at least a point against the big-spending Japanese side to progress, but their chances looked slim when Yoshinori Muto scored in the 87th minute to put Vissel ahead in Buriram, Thailand.
Raul Baena saved the day with a header in the 91st minute to snatch a point for Kitchee and send them into the knock-out round as one of the competition’s best second-placed teams.
Vissel, who were missing former Barcelona star Andres Iniesta and were already guaranteed a place in the round of 16, went through as Group J winners.
Kitchee will face Thailand’s BG Pathum United in the next round, while Vissel will play fellow Japanese side Yokohama F Marinos.
Marinos progressed from the group stage after a 1-1 draw with South Korea's Jeonbuk Motors.
Marinos won Group H, while Jeonbuk were already sure to go through as one of the best runners-up.
Jeonbuk will play fellow South Koreans Daegu, while in the other round-of-16 fixture in the East region, Japan’s Urawa Reds will take on Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim. – AFP, May 2, 2022
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