China Wrap: Beijing Guoan close the gap at top
Beijing Guoan closed the gap to Guangzhou Evergrande at the top of the Chinese Super League to one point with a 4-0 thumping of Hangzhou.
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8NkSU3gS9Lmtxtk6Y6CeHL.jpg)
Gregorio Manzano's men hit the front five minutes before half-time through Joffre Guerron
Zhang Xizhe, Pablo Batalla and Peter Utaka then added further goals in the second half as Guoan bounced back impressively from a 2-1 defeat to Shanghai Shenxin last time out.
The win moved them to within a point of defending champions Evergrande, who were held 1-1 at home by Guizhou Renhe.
It could have been even worse for the hosts, who fell behind to Chen Zijie's 38th-minute opener, but Mei Fang equalised 12 minutes after the break as Marcello Lippi's men dropped points for only the third time this season.
At the opposite end of the table, Changchun Yatai climbed above Henan Jianye and out of the bottom two with a 2-0 home success over Liaoning Whowin.
Cao Tianbao edged them ahead after quarter of an hour, with Eninho giving the home side a measure of breathing space midway through the second period.
That ended a run of three consecutive defeats for Dragomir Okuka's men, and lifted them two points above Jianye, who went down 2-1 at home to Shenxin.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Jianye fell behind to a strike from Jailton Paraiba midway through the first half, but pulled themselves level with Xu Jang's effort on the hour.
Yang Jiawei came off the bench for Shenxin shortly afterwards and netted the winner six minutes from time.
Elsewhere, Shandong Luneng moved into third, above Guangzhou R&F whom they beat 3-1, while Tianjin Teda won 3-2 at Dalian Aerbin to claim their third consecutive victory.
![LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 5: Arne Slot Manager of Liverpool congratulates Mohamed Salah of Liverpool after the 4-0 victory during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD4 match between Liverpool FC and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Anfield on November 5, 2024 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/q3ie7X2vDDiU7X6C9HVRK7-840-80.jpg)
‘The pure simplicity of the way Slot has managed the squad is probably the biggest thing I could say about him. It’s not broken, so let’s get on with it’: Liverpool legend full of admiration for Jurgen Klopp's successor at Anfield
![CARDIFF, UNITED KINGDOM - JUNE 02: Wales captain Ryan Giggs shakes the hand of manager John Toshack after being substituted on his last International appearance for his country during the Euro 2008 Group D Qualifying Match between Wales and Czech Republic at the Millennium Stadium on June 2, 2007 in Cardiff, Wales. Photo by (Stu Forster/Getty Images)](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ooQ9oNmgvfUUG8TBUhn6BK-840-80.jpg)
‘I trained at Spurs and thought they’d give me a chance. But I received a letter thanking me but saying they didn’t think I was good enough – I was gutted’: How Tottenham missed out on signing Wales legend John Toshack