Guangzhou Evergrande U15 team beat Spain's Alcobendas Levitt 2-0 at the Evergrande-Madrid Championship in Madrid on January 15, 2019. (Xinhua/Guo Qiuda)

By Xinhua writer/photographer Guo Qiuda

MADRID, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Two Guangzhou Evergrande youth teams ended their first match day of the ongoing Evergrande-Madrid Championship with a win and a draw against two opponents from Madrid.

The two matches were held in Torres de la Alameda in the east of Madrid. The first game was between U16 teams of Evergrande and Getafe. Getafe is a footbal club that currently plays in Spanish League, and its youth team has gained a good reputation across Spain. Meanwhile, several key players of Evergrande have been called to the Chinese national youth team recently, which undoubtedly undermined the team's depth.

However, Evergrande demonstrated their determination with waves of attacks and a tough defense. The visiting team did create a few opportunities in front of Getafe's gate. The match ended in a nil draw.

The second match was between the U15 teams of Evergrande and Alcobendas Levitt Football Club. Evergrande rapidly showed its dominance during the match, as they kept giving pressure to defenders around the penalty area and managed to get a couple of good chances to shoot.

Evergrande finally got their reward in the first half when Zeng Yaozhang broke through three defenders in the penalty area and sent the ball into Alcobendas' gate. During the second half, Evergrande earned a penalty, and Cai Zhichen didn't miss a chance. Evergrande U15 team won the game 2-0, giving themselves a victory in the first battle.

Evergrande U15 team coach Armando de la Morena expressed his confidence for his players. "Although our boys were a bit nervous in the beginning, we can tell that they are at a higher level. We are going to face many strong teams in the coming months, so we need to get prepared, just like what we did in the past year," Armando told Xinhua.

The Evergrande Madrid Championship, which was sponsored by Chinese company Evergrande, featured the lower categories of a total of 17 Madrid clubs like Real Madrid, Getafe, Leganes or Rayo Vallecano, all of which will play against Evergrande youth teams.

This tournament will be divided into four categories (sub-14, sub-15, sub-16 and sub-17), with each category featuring multiple groups. In total, 76 teams and over 2,000 players will take part. To win the championship, a team has to make its way through a single round of group matches, then move on to the knockout stages. The matches will be held two days every week and last for almost the whole year.

All of the Chinese players are selected from the Evergrande football school in China. They passed a test in China aged 14, which gave them the opportunity to receive training in Spain in the following years.

Wang Yajun, vice president of Evergrande football school, says that the youngsters take part "to inspire the potential of Chinese players and to make Chinese football great."