Dalian draw with Evergrande, Shandong thrash R&F

DALIAN -- Dalian Pro and Guangzhou Evergrande had to settle for a point apiece as they battled out a thrilling 2-2 draw in the seventh round of the 2020 Chinese Super League (CSL)'s Dalian division on Tuesday.

Dalian had failed to win any of the first six CSL matches on their home turf, sitting bottom of the eight-team Group A. But despite facing the defending champions, Dalian took a surprise early lead through Wang Yaopeng's 15th minute header from Marek Hamsik's corner.

Sam Larsson then made it 2-0 to Dalian on the half-hour mark as he met Sun Bo's pass from the left and confidently slotted home. Sun Bo almost added a third before the break, but was denied by the crossbar.

Evergrande turned up the heat in the second half and finally got a goal back through Brazil's Paulinho in the 74th minute.

Five minutes later, Fernando Henrique smashed home an excellent header to level the scores, though neither side was able to find a winning goal.

Despite the result, Dalian remain still bottom of the CSL's Group A, and remain winless this season.

By contrast, Evergrande sit top with five wins from seven games, level on points with Shandong Luneng, who thrashed Guangzhou R&F 5-1 in Tuesday's other game.

In a one-sided encounter, Jin Jingdao opened the scoring for Shandong midway through the first half, before Graziano Pelle added a quickfire double to make it 3-0.

In the 42nd minute, Duan Liuyu scored his first goal of the season to give Shandong a comfortable 4-0 lead going into the break.

In the second half, Dia Saba of Guangzhou twice shot high over the bar, before Guo Tianyu added a fifth for Luneng in the 58th minute.

Guangzhou's only consolation goal was a long-range strike from Saba, shortly before the final whistle confirmed Shandong's fourth consecutive CSL win.

On Wednesday, Shanghai SIPG will face Chongqing Dangdai Lifan in the CSL's Suzhou division, while Shanghai Greenland Shenhua take on Henan Jianye in a match postponed from Monday due to a rainstorm in Dalian.