China Wrap: Beijing falter, Evergrande capitalise
Beijing Guoan's brief spell of parity with Guangzou Evergrande at the Chinese Super League summit came to an end this weekend.
Gregorio Manzano's men went into matchday 12 level with the champions thanks partly to Guangzhou's derby defeat to Guangzhou R&F last time out.
However, Evergrande restored their three-point advantage after Beijing fell 2-1 to Shanghai Shenxin - who picked up their first win in six league matches - on Saturday.
Johnny and Lim You-Hwan helped them move further clear of danger in a result that will have been much appreciated by Marcello Lippi and his squad.
Elkeson's hat-trick helped Guangzhou see off Hangzhou 4-1 in comfortable fashion on Sunday as they bounced back from their 1-0 loss to R&F to go three points clear at the top.
Sven-Goran Eriksson's R&F side were unable to build on their derby victory as Hyuri's brace helped Guizhou Renhe make the most of their numerical advantage after Xu Bo was sent off before the break.
Evergrande were the only side in the top five to win as Shandong Luneng and Shanghai SIPG shared the spoils in a six-goal thriller - Lu Wenjun grabbing the equaliser for Shanghai nine minutes from time.
Dori was the hero for Harbin Yiteng on Saturday as his hat-trick helped them salvage a draw against mid-table Shanghai Shenhua.
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His brace helped send the hosts in ahead at the break before Gao Di and Giovanni Moreno put Shenhua back on top with two a goal each in the space of two minutes.
However, the former Fluminese man scored three minutes from time to move them a point closer to fellow strugglers Changchun Yatai - who threw away a one-goal lead to go down 2-1 against Tianjin Teda.
Elsewhere, Aleksandar Jevtic scored the crucial goal in Liaoning Whowin's success against Henan Jianye before the weekend's action ended with Ji Xiang's goal gave Jiangsu Sainty a 1-0 win over Dalian Aerbin.