Kitchee were on the receiving end of a 2-3 defeat in their first pre-season friendly in Thailand this summer, as they lost to 2022/23 Thai League 1 treble winners Buriram United on Wednesday (July 26).
The friendly took place in Buriram province the day after Kitchee’s arrival. Aleksandar Damcevski, Tan Chun Lok, and Júnior were all included in the starting XI for Kitchee in the match against the Thai giant. Kitchee got off to a strong start when Júnior scored his first goal for the club in the 13th minute with Cleiton assisted. However, they found themselves behind after Lonsana Doumbouya and Supachai Chaided gave Buriram United the lead at the break.
Kitchee made 6 changes at the break including Mikael came into the side, and the Brazilian midfielder demonstrated his brilliance by scoring the equalizer 2 minutes after coming off the bench. Ruslan Mingazov would have scored the winner after providing an assist to Mikael, but his goal was initially flagged as offside. Doumbouya grabbed the match winner by netting his double in the 83rd minute to hand Kitchee their first defeat of their pre-season tour in the 2-3 result against Buriram United.