Guangzhou Evergrande defeat Shandong Luneng 2-1

Guangzhou Evergrande, six-time champions of Chinese Super League (CSL), defeated Shandong Luneng 2-1 on Saturday in the 17th round of the season, ending up its two-game losing streak.

Both teams had key players absent. Alan of Guangzhou Evergrande had an injury and the team's captain Zheng Zhi was on a four-game suspension, and Shandong Luneng's two wing forwards Liu Binbin and Wu Xinghan also had injuries.

Brazilian Ricardo Goulart opened the scoring with a header before the first half ended, after Huang Bowen launched a lef-side corner.

Italian Graziano Pelle equalized the game also with a header in the 60th minute, with Jin Jingdao's passing from the right side. The match day was also the striker's 32-year-old birthday.

Li Xuepeng was substituted by Zou Zheng in the 77th minute, who scored a winning ball only four minutes after coming off the bench.

In other matches played on Saturday, Yanbian lost to Shanghai SIPG 1-3, Beijing Guoan won over Guizhou Hengfeng 2-0, Chongqing Lifan beat Hebei China Fortune 2-1, and Henan Jianye edged Liaoning Shenyang Carsing 2-1.

Tianjin Elion tied with Jiangsu Suning 1-1 on Friday.