CHINESE champion Guangzhou Evergrande opened its 2012 Asian Champions League campaign with a 5-1 thrashing of 2011 finalist Jeonbuk Motors in Korea yesterday.

Two goals from Brazilian striker Cleo and another from Argentine midfielder Dario Conca gave the visitors a 3-0 lead before Jeong Shung-hoon replied for the South Korean team in the 70th minute.

Conca scored his second for Guangzhou two minutes later and Brazilian forward Muriqui wrapped up a convincing Group H win in the 75th.

Jeonbuk found an instant response as Jeong's exquisite backheel from Lee Dong-gook's low cross reduced the deficit with 20 minutes remaining.

Guangzhou, though, emphatically responded as Conca added his second of the night with a superb 25-yard strike with 17 minutes remaining before Muriqui found his way onto the scoresheet as the Brazilian showed superb control on the edge of the area before drilling a strike under Kim from the edge of the area.

"It was a wonderful match because we were able to score five goals. But this is not the end, it is just the beginning. There are still five matches to play and we have to be ready for all of them." said Guangzhou's Korean coach Lee Jang-soo.

"We had good tactics and good systems for the match, but we lost our captain Cho Sung-hwan due to an injury very early in the game and that was tough as he is very important for our team," said Jeonbuk coach Lee Heung-sil.

In 2011, Guangzhou kicked off the new era in China by embarking on a massive spending spree that helped the team win the domestic title for the first time and by a margin of 15 points.

【体育快讯】憋闷了很久的中国球迷终于可以狂欢一把了！在昨晚的亚冠比赛中，中超球队广州恒大5比1客场大胜韩国全北现代。中超冠军痛击韩国K联赛冠军，这也是中韩男子职业球队之间对抗的最大分差。恒大的胜利让他们一夜之间成为了全民偶像。

赛前恒大集团董事局主席许家印宣布，在亚冠奖金赢一场600万元的基础上，恒大队赢一个净胜球就额外奖励200万元，因此4球大胜之后，恒大队本场比赛获得的奖金高达1400万元人民币。

昨天恒大队的5个进球都由这3名外援孔卡、克莱奥和穆里奇完成，但其他中国球员在场上跑动积极，配合默契。赛后全北现代队的主教练也盛赞中国球员表现出色。

带领恒大获胜的韩国主帅李章洙表示，这场比赛只是刚刚开始，恒大还有很多场硬战要打。但此次的亚冠首秀客场狂胜，无疑为恒大队球员带来了极大的自信。