Despite Michael Essien scoring his first goal in Indonesia on Saturday night, Persib Bandung was disappointed to drop two points after being held to a 2-2 draw at PS TNI in the second week of Indonesia’s Liga 1.
It means that the 2015 champions are winless after two rounds, despite a massive preseason spending spree to beef up their squad.
Both Essien and his former Chelsea teammate Carlton Cole came on second-half substitutes, despite reports that they did not have the correct visas for import players.
He made an immediate impact in a playmaker role, more advanced than during his days in Europe’s top leagues.
The former Real Madrid man got on the end of a right-sided corner from Kim Jeffrey Kurniawan in the 50th minute to send a powerful header over the despairing dive of Dhika Bayangkara and into the roof of the hosts’ net.
