Rong Hao scored in the last minute as defending champion Guangzhou Evergrande kicked off the remainder of the Chinese Super League season with a 2-1 win over Shanghai Greenland Shenhua at Hongkou Football Stadium last night.
Guangzhou opened the scoring in the 8th minute through a freekick from Italian striker Alessandro Diamanti. Gao Di leveled for the hosts in the 27th following a mistake by Evergrande's defense.
But it was not until the 90th that Rong tapped in the goal from a Mei Fang pass that the visitors could clinch victory.
Shenhua started with one of its two new signings — Brazilian striker Paulo Henrique, who joined in July.
The other newcomer is Lucas Viatri, from Argentina. Together with Colombian midfielder Giovanni Moreno, the trio will hope to build a new Latin American attacking system for the CSL team, one of three local clubs in the top tier.
Greenland Shenhua sits 12th in the 16-team standing on 15 points following the early kickoff game. Evergrande continues to lead the pack on 35 points.
The rest of the second half of this year's CSL season, which took a break due to the on-going World Cup finals in Brazil, will kick off next weekend.
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