Kawasaki Frontale's Leandro Damiao celebrates after scoring in the second half of an Asian Champions League game against Daegu FC on June 26, 2021 in Tashkent. (Kyodo)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Joao Schmidt scored the winner as J-League champions Kawasaki Frontale came from behind to beat Daegu FC of South Korea 3-2 in their Asian Champions League Group I opener on Saturday.

       Leandro Damiao twice pulled Kawasaki level, first with a spectacular 40th-minute overhead kick followed by a close-range effort in the 51st minute, before Schmidt slotted home a loose ball from a corner four minutes later at Lokomotiv Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

       Daegu, ahead through Hwang Soon Min's eighth-minute opener, had Edgar's penalty saved in the 29th minute by Kawasaki keeper Jung Sung Ryong. Cesinha's 47th-minute header restored their lead, but only for four minutes.

       Kawasaki were without Dusseldorf-bound Ao Tanaka in midfield but his fellow Tokyo Olympic teammates Reo Hatate and Kaoru Mitoma combined for their second, with Mitoma also having a shot from inside the box denied in the first half.

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