Football
Michael Church, Asia correspondent 7y

Shanghai SIPG continue winning start in CSL, Shandong beat Guangzhou

Andre Villas-Boas rested Brazilian striker Elkeson but Shanghai SIPG maintained their perfect start to the season on Friday evening, notching a fifth win of the year and their second in a row in the Chinese Super League against Yanbian Funde.

Lu Wenjun and Wu Lei scored for SIPG as Villas-Boas left out Elkeson -- who claimed a hat trick in his side's 5-1 win over Changchun Yatai last week -- ahead of Wednesday's Asian Champions League encounter with Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds.

"The match was very, very difficult," said the Portuguese coach. "Our opponents started with a solid defence, and we couldn't find space to attack. Wu Lei missed two or three opportunities.

"Our goals were also not easy as their defence was tough. The whole quality of the game may not be that high, but we managed to gain three points."

The win was SIPG's fifth in a row following three victories in the Asian Champions League, including one in the playoff rounds, but the success was tarnished by an injury to He Guan that leaves a question mark over the defender's availability in the coming weeks.

"It was a good beginning for us, but we will immediately face two very difficult games," Villas-Boas, whose side meet defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande in the league next week, said. "In addition, I don't know if He Guan can recover soon.

"But a good start is always a positive signal. We also use players in rotation and we have paid lots of attention to their condition."

Luiz Felipe Scolari's Guangzhou Evergrande, meanwhile, slipped up against Shandong Luneng as Felix Magath's side fought back from going a goal behind to take all three points with a 2-1 win.

Huang Bowen gave the champions the lead with a free kick in the sixth minute but a header from Gil and a late winner from Diego Tardelli handed Guangzhou their first defeat of the year.

Guangzhou captain Zheng Zhi was suspended following his sending off in the 2-1 win over Beijing Guoan in his side's opening game and Scolari blamed the absence of the national team captain for the defeat.

"Our captain is also the captain of the national team, and he is an outstanding player," he said. "Any team missing such a player will suffer a negative impact for sure."

In the evening's other game, last season's runners-up Jiangsu Suning were held to a 0-0 draw by Tianjin Teda.

^ Back to Top ^