XI'AN, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Guangzhou Evergrande smashed Tianjin Quanjian 5-0 in the 19th round of the Chinese Super League(CSL).
Guangzhou have won the title for the past seven seasons. Last season, Quanjian defeated the defending champions twice under the guidance of the 44-year-old Italian legend Fabio Cannavaro, who left Quanjian for Evergrande at the end of last year.
Both Evergrande and Quanjian encountered setbacks recently. Evergrande lost 3-2 to Changchun Yatai while Quanjian failed to find a victory in four games.
Bezerra Maciel Junior (Paulinho) broke the deadlock for Evergrande in the 15th minute. The goal capped the Brazilian international's 100th appearance as an Evergrande player.
Paulinho's compatriot Anderson Talisca almost added to the score in the 39th minute, but his close-range header went behind for a goal kick after finding the crossbar.
Ricardo Goulart scored an easy goal in the 52nd minute after a poor clearance from Quanjian's Zhang Cheng. Paulinho made it 3-0 in the 57th minute and Talisca scored twice later in the game as the midfielder finished off the scoring in the 90th minute.
Evergrande are now three points away from the top of the league with a game in hand.
In the other game played on Sunday, Hebei China Fortune defeated Shanghai Greenland Shenhua 4-1.
