SIPG win has Brazilian flavor

Ma Yue
Shanghai SIPG thrashed Tianjin Quanjian 4-1 at home during the 15th round of the Chinese Super League yesterday thanks to goals from its Brazilian trio. 
Ma Yue
SIPG win has Brazilian flavor
Imaginechina

Shanghai SIPG’s Oscar scores against Tianjin Quanjian during their Chinese Super League match in Shanghai yesterday.

Shanghai SIPG thrashed Tianjin Quanjian 4-1 at home during the 15th round of the Chinese Super League yesterday thanks to goals from its Brazilian trio. Shanghai Greenland Shenhua, however, lost 1-3 to Shandong Luneng in Jinan.

At Shanghai Stadium, Elkeson scored the opener for SIPG with a header on Hulk’s assist 12 minutes into the match. Tianjin equalized in the 26th as Alexandre Pato’s freekick curled past the wall and fell into SIPG’s goal. Just a minute later, captain Hulk’s shot from inside the box gave SIPG the lead again.

SIPG’s third goal came 17 seconds after the break when Oscar got a pass from Wu Lei on top of the box and sent the ball past Tianjin goalkeeper Zhang Lu. The former Chelsea player rattled the visitors’ defense again in the 53rd to make it 4-1.

Three minutes later, Wu won a penalty after being tripped in the box. The CSL’s top scorer himself stepped up to take the spot kick but sent the ball over the bar. The score remained unchanged the rest of the way.

SIPG is currently second in the 16-team CSL standings on 30 points — one less than leader Shandong.

Shandong took on another Shanghai team Shenhua in an earlier clash in Jinan, with the visitors taking the lead in the 37th when Demba Ba received a midfield pass from captain Giovanni Moreno. The Senegalese beat Shandong defender Dai Lin and goalie Wang Dalei to find the back of the net.

An own goal by Shenhua defender Li Peng in injury time of the first half helped the hosts to equalize. Li was trying to clear a long pass from Shandong’s Brazilian striker Roger Guedes, but deflected the ball into the goal.

The hosts then turned on the style in the second half with Diego Tardelli and Jin Jingdao scoring in the 56th and 83rd minutes, respectively — both with headers — to lift Shandong to the top of the standings.

“We can’t beat the top-ranked teams, which means we don’t have that kind of ability yet,” Shenhua manager Wu Jingui said after the defeat. “But I believe we can do that sooner or later.”

“The players’ mood got affected after conceding the equalizer at the end of the first half. We could have performed more steadily in the second half, but the team played quite rashly and allowed the opponent to score from counterattacks,” said Wu. “It’s true that in the previous few matches, we took the lead but couldn’t hold on to it. That’s what we have to work on.”

Shenhua has not won in its past seven away matches in all competitions — two draws and five defeats. The team shares sixth place in the CSL with Guangzhou R&F on 22 points.

In other matches yesterday, Changchun Yatai beat Dalian Yifang 3-0; Guizhou Hengfeng edged Chongqing Lifan 4-3; R&F eased past Beijing Renhe 4-1; and Jiangsu Suning overcame Henan Jianye 1-0.

The remaining two 15th-round CSL matches — Beijing Guo’an vs Hebei China Fortune and Tianjin Teda vs Guangzhou Evergrande — will take place today.


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