Thailand captain Chanathip Songkrasin has scored his first goal for Kawasaki Frontale since joining the J1 League champions in January, netting in an emphatic 8-0 win over Guangzhou in AFC Champions League 2022 on Monday.
In a one-sided encounter at Larkin Stadium, Frontale were already six goals up when Chanathip's moment arrived in the 69th minute as he broke free inside the area with a trademark jinking run before lashing a shot into the back of the net.
The result was far from unexpected given Guangzhou are fielding a youth side in this year's competition, but the big margin of victory was perhaps a surprise given Frontale opted to rest most of their starting XI -- making ten changes to the team that drew 1-1 with Ulsan Hyundai in their opening Group I encounter on Friday.
In the absence of the likes of Leandro Damiao and Akihiro Ienaga, players such as Kei Chinen and Yu Kobayashi stepped up with two goals apiece, while defender Shintaro Kurumaya also grabbed a double to take his tally to three goals in two games following his injury-time equaliser against Ulsan three days ago.
With the result, Frontale tentatively moved top of Group I with Ulsan and Johor Darul Ta'zim facing off later on Monday.