Sunday’s showdown on the Chinese mainland saw Shanghai Port edge Beijing Guoan 3-2 in a thriller that keeps the defending champions hot on the leaders in the Chinese Super League (CSL) title race.
Brazilian forward Leonardo opened the floodgates just seven minutes in, pouncing on a low cross from Li Shuai and firing into the bottom-left corner.
Guoan thought they were chasing daylight when Gabrielzinho found the net in the 36th minute, but the effort was ruled out for offside. Moments later, Fabio Abreu appeared to level things, only for VAR to chalk off his goal for handball. The Angolan striker redeemed himself by winning and converting a stoppage-time penalty to make it 1-1 at half.
Six minutes after the break, Port reclaimed the lead. A loose clearance from Guoan’s defense allowed Leonardo to tap in from close range. After a brief VAR check for offside, the goal stood.
In the 79th minute, Gabrielzinho carved open the defense down the left wing and squared for Leonardo’s unmissable finish, completing his hat-trick and extending the lead to 3-1.
Beijing pulled one back through veteran Zhang Xizhe seven minutes later, but couldn’t find a late equaliser, suffering their third straight defeat and falling six points behind the top two.
Elsewhere, leaders Chengdu Rongcheng were held 1-1 at Shanghai Shenhua, while Tianjin Jinmen Tiger defeated Shenzhen 1-0 to climb into sixth. With goal difference separating the top two, Port will head into their next fixture knowing they’re just a couple goals shy of the summit.
Reference(s):
Leonardo's hat-trick drops Guoan further behind Port in CSL title race
cgtn.com
