BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Super League (CSL) bellwether Beijing Guo'an and runners-up Shandong Luneng had to settle for a point apiece as they battled out a thrilling 1-1 draw at the Beijing workers' stadium on Sunday.
In the fifth minute, Diego Tardelli broke the deadlock for Luneng as the Brazilian forward tapped his teammate Wu Xinghan's long shot into the net. Yu Dabao almost equalized for Guo'an in the 11th minute, but his lob shot went wide. Luneng organized a solid defense after scoring the goal, while Brazilian international Renato Augusto's free kick found the net directly before the halftime whistle to level the score.
Cedric Bakambu's close range shot was denied by Luneng goalkeeper Wang Dalei in the 56th minute, after receiving Augusto's long ground pass. The 27-year-old striker missed the other chance of turning the table three minutes later, failing to collect Zhang Xizhe's triangular cross. Augusto forced Wang Dalei into a world-class save in the 69th minute. Guo'an had a 64 percent ball possession and more second-half chances, but both sides could not change the score again.
"We are happy to bring one point home, Guo'an are still the league's leaders now," Luneng goalkeeper Wang said after the decisive clash.
Defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande registered its fourth straight win with a 4-2 away victory over derby rivals Guangzhou R&F, narrowing the gap with leaders Guo'an to three points with a game in hand.
In the six-goal thrilling Guangzhou derby, Paulinho contributed two goals as Anderson Souza Conceicao had earned his sixth goal in four games.
After Shanghai SIPG losing to Dalian Yifang 1-0, Fabio Cannavaro' side has the same points with third placed SIPG.
In the other two games on Sunday, Jiangsu Suning defeated Guizhou Hengfeng 3-1, while Hebei China Fortune lost to Tianjin Teda 2-1. Enditem
