Marcello Lippi was thrilled with his Guangzhou Evergrande side's second-half performance in the Asian Champions League on Wednesday.
The World Cup-winning Italian manager saw the reigning Asian and Chinese Super League champions turn a two-goal half-time deficit to Melbourne Victory into a 4-2 triumph in their opening group stage fixture of the 2014 Asian Champions League.
Goals from Pablo Contreras and Leigh Broxham had the A-League club 2-0 ahead at the break but Guangzhou turned it on in the second lot of 45 minutes, with recent signing Alessandro Diamanti scoring twice, while Huang Bowen and Elkeson were also on the scoresheet.
After the match, Lippi praised his team for turning their fortunes around in the second half to record a first-up Group G victory in Southern China.
"My team was not 100% prepared. Last season finished late, so we had an off-season for a month and we started back late," said Lippi.
"Our players haven't reached their best form to face a challenge at the level of the AFC Champions League.
"We were behind our opponents' performance in the first half and they deserved to lead 2-0. But in the second half we found our tempo to control the game. Most importantly, our players showed a strong desire to win."
