GUANGZHOU, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Israeli forward Eran Zahavi celebrated his hat-trick feat, helping Guangzhou R&F edge defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande 5-4 in the first round of the Chinese Super League (CSL) new season here on Friday.
Zahavi opened his scoring sheet right after the kick-off when he fired a long shot from outside the box in the first minute. The Israeli international soon extended R&F's lead to 2-0 as he scored again nearly from the same spot through a counter-attack run.
However, Guangzhou Evergrande were not ready to accept a defeat in their season opener, especially a derby in their home stadium, and they gradually took control of the game as Brazilian striker Alan scored three goals in a row in the 13th, 38th and 44th minutes to overturn the tide 3-2 for the home side.
Yu Hanchao of Evergrande could have scored before the half break, but his powerful shot inside the area was denied by the bar.
When Evergrande seemed to win the game with ease, Zahavi stood out again to complete his hat-trick three minutes into the second half as he netted in a pass off teammate Renatinho.
Junior Urso's long shot in the 64th minute didn't seem to be promising, but Evergrande goalkeeper Liu Dianzuo made a poor save, only to see the ball slip into the net.
Evergande soon made a response, as Brazilian striker Ricardo Goulart found the equalizer through a penalty kick in the 68th minute.
A header from Xiao Zhi in close range in the 74th minute put R&F ahead again and the visitors kept the scoreboard unchanged till the end.
In other first round games, Tianjin Quanjian crushed Henan Jianye 4-0 and Shanghai Greenland tied Changchun Yatai 1-1.
