China Wrap: Guangzhou Evergrande remain top
CSL champions Guangzhou Evergrande will enter their mid-season break top of the table after coming from behind to draw 1-1 at Beijing Guoan.
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Marcello Lippi's side, aiming for their fourth successive CSL success, have battled this month, with a home defeat to rivals Guangzhou R&F followed by an AFC Champions League loss against Cerezo Osaka.
And their sloppy 1-1 home draw against Guizhou Renhe on Wednesday gave the second-placed Guoan a chance to move to the top of the table with victory in the Chinese capital on Monday.
All was going to plan for the hosts when Zhang Xishe gave them a sixth-minute lead but their advantage was slashed four minutes before the break.
Brazilian Elkeson – who finished eight goals clear as the league's top scorer last term – has made a habit of scoring crucial goals for his team and this occasion was no different as he levelled proceedings.
Neither side were able to find a winner in the second half but the draw was enough for Evergrande to remain one point clear at the summit.
R&F moved into third with an expected 2-0 win at rock-bottom Harbin Yiteng.
Yiteng, who have won just once this season, had no answer for Jiang Ning, who scored both goals for the victors in the first half.
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Shandong Luneng dropped to fourth after a goalless stalemate against mid-table Renhe.
Tianjin Teda won their fourth match in a row as a 1-0 triumph over Shanghai Shenhua helped them climb to sixth.
Li Benijan scored the game's sole goal two minutes before half-time.
Hangzhou's slide down the table continued as second-bottom Henan Jianye came from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw.
Wang Song fired Hangzhou just before the break but Xiao Zhi struck with six minutes left to ensure both sides would share the spoils.
Hangzhou – who have kept just one clean sheet this season and conceded a league-high 29 goals – are now winless in five matches, form that has seen them drop to 10th.
Other results saw Jiangsu Sainty edge Shanghai SIPG 1-0, while Liaoning Whowin and Dalian Aerbin could not be separated in a 0-0 draw and Changchun Yatai won 2-0 at Shanghai Shenxin.
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