Koreans in Europe: Cho Gue-sung scores brace to kick off come-from-behind rout

Cho Gue-sung celebrates in a photo posted on the official FC Midtjylland X account [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Cho Gue-sung scored a brace Monday to lead FC Midtjylland to a come-from-behind rout over Viborg in the Danish Superliga, scoring his seventh and eighth goals in his 16th league appearance this season.

After conceding early, Cho pulled Midtjylland back into the game in stoppage time at the end of the first half with a penalty to tie things up at 1-1.

Dario Osorio pushed things further in the ninth minute of stoppage time, adding one more to put the league leaders up 2-1 going into the break.

Midtjylland quickly doubled down in the second half, Henrik Dalsgaard scoring No. 3 in the 54th minute before Cho was back in front of goal in the 66th to make it 4-1. Ola Brynhildsen added one more in the 84th to make it 5-1 and hand Midtjylland their sixth league win in a row.

With the win, Midtjylland remain at the top of the Superliga table with 11 wins, three draws and three losses on the season. Brondby trail by two points and Copenhagen by three, but the momentum is definitely on Midtjylland’s side — all three of those losses came back in August, with Midtjylland remaining undefeated in the league since then.

The brace takes Cho to eight goals on the season, putting him at No. 3 on the Superliga top scorer list in his debut season in the league. Alexander Lind of Silkdeborg and Nicolai Vallys of Brondby lead that list with 10 goals apiece as of press time.

Cho joined Midtjylland from K League side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors over the summer and has got off to an impressive start, with nine goals and two assists across all competitions, the additional goal coming from the UEFA Conference League qualifiers.

Cho was joined over the summer by countryman Lee Han-beom, who spent Monday’s game on the bench. A young center-back, Lee has so far made three appearances for Midtjylland: Two in the Danish Future Cup and one in the SuperLiga during a 4-1 win over Hvidovre last month.

Monday’s game will be Midtjylland’s last for some time — while Denmark enjoys milder weather than it’s Scandinavian neighbors, the Superliga still takes a lengthy winter break from December until February.

With no European football to play, Midtjylland will not be back in action until Feb. 18, when they face second-place Brondby on the road. That break will likely give Cho and Lee a chance to return to Korea, with training typically resuming in January ahead of the February restart.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]