Chinese Super League – Zhao Hejing and Zheng Zhi receive red cards; Bao Li scores two goals as Guangzhou Evergrande beats Beijing Guoan 2-1

Thread Content

　　On the evening of March 5th, Beijing time, the first round of the 2017 Chinese Super League continued, with Guangzhou Evergrande defeating Beijing Guoan 2-1 at home. Paulinho gave Evergrande the lead in the 19th minute with a goal that appeared to be offside ； Guoan equalized in the 38th minute through a controversial penalty scored by Ilmarz ； In the 87th minute, Paulinho scored twice, including the goal that secured the victory. Main referee Hei Xiaohu issued 13 yellow cards during the match, with Zhao Hejing from China Fortune City and Zheng Zhi from Evergrande being sent off with red cards. 　　Evergrande has entered the new season in good form through competitions such as the AFC Champions League and the Super Cup, but playing two matches in a row over a week has also taken a toll on them. During the previous 8-day period with 3 matches, Evergrande used a fixed starting lineup; in this match, two changes were made, with Huang Bowen and U23 player Chen Zepeng taking the place of Liao Lisheng and Li Xuepeng (who were injured). Before the season began, Guoan experienced a series of changes in its ownership structure, management team, coaching staff, and squad composition, making the course of the new season quite interesting to watch. Since rising to the Chinese Super League in the 2011 season, their record against Guoan in this league is 4 wins, 6 draws, and 2 losses; at home, their record against Guoan is 2 wins, 3 draws, and 1 loss. In their last 3 home matches against Guoan, they have 1 draw and 2 losses.