XI'AN, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Shandong Luneng defeated Guangzhou R&F 2-1 in its 22nd Chinese Super League match on Sunday, snatching the 400th milestone victory of its official match history.
Luneng had suffered three league defeats in a row, a speed bump on the road to the league title. If they want to have a chance of securing a 2019 season's Asian Champions League spot, the CSL powerhouse should make some quick adjustments.
R&F's elite striker Eran Zahavi was not available for the key match because of his injury. The valuable player's absence threw his team into a struggle.
In the 10th minute, Graziano Pelle's close range volley shot broke the deadlock for the home team. Although R&F's Ribeiro Calixto (Renatinho) did a pretty good job, no one could give him effective support in the midfield.
R&F's midfielder Li Tixiang was substituted by an attacking midfielder Chang Feiya at the beginning of the second half, making the away team's defence system weaker than it was in the first half.
Jin Jingdao earned his sixth league goal of the season in the 53rd minute after receiving Wu Xinghan's accurately overhead long pass. But Renatinho pulled one back in the 60th minute through a sensational free-kick.
Cheng Yuelei denied Zheng Zheng's powerful shot in the box in the 64th minute, keeping the away team's hopes alive. Dusko Tosic knocked down Pelle in the penalty zone in the 69th minute, putting his team on the brink of desperation. But Diego Tardelli missed the chance.
Luneng organized a solid defence system in the last few minutes of the game, holding its one-goal advantage until the end.
"We all tried our best in the match," said R&F's Zhang Jiajie.
"I had some small mistakes today. I have to analyse them and ensure I don't repeat them in the future," the 22-year-old added.
In the other CSL game played on Sunday, Beijing Renhe lost to Hebei China Fortune 2-0. Enditem
