Marko Arnautovic and Ricardo Lopes both netted twice to help Shanghai SIPG beat Hebei China Fortune 4-0 for second straight win in the Chinese Super League (CSL) here on Monday.
Despite the absence of team captain Hulk, CSL powerhouses Shanghai dominated the whole match with 17 shots, six of them on target, while Hebei only had one shot on target.
Arnautovic broke the deadlock in the stoppage time of the first half thanks to a headed pass on a corner from Lyu Wenjun. The Austrian striker added his second goal in the 48th minute when Lopes's long distance shot was rebounded off the cross bar.
Lopes, who scored a brace in his CSL debut last Monday, extended the lead to 3-0 in the 72th minute as he dribbled through the defense and into the penalty area to beat the goalkeeper. The Brazilian then knocked in a rebound in the last minute of the match.
"We played good team football today and created many chances. We wanted to control the ball, my players did it well," said SIPG head coach Vitor Pereira.
The 59-year-old Portugese also revealed Hulk was injured in training and therefore didn't feature in the game. "I hope the medical staff can help him back to good form soon."
In the other game in Suzhou, former Chinese international Rong Hao's last minuted goal gifted Tianjin Teda a 2-2 draw with Chongqing Dangdai Lifan.
Yuan Mincheng scored the opener for Chongqing in the 21st minute of the match with a left-footed shot, but Chongqing missed the opportunity to extend the lead eight minutes later when Feng Jing's penalty was denied by Teda goalkeeper Du Jia.
In the 37th minute, the Jianjin side got the equalizer with a volley from full back Zhao Honglue.
Chongqing got the upper hand again in the 83rd minute after Dong Honglin penetrated into the penalty area and slotted the ball into the corner of the net.
The Lifan team seemed to have sealed the victory, but Yuan received his second yellow card in the first minute of stoppage time. Two minutes later, Rong chipped the ball from the edge of the penalty area at a tight angle, and the ball looped over the goalkeeper into the back of the net.
