With a 3-1 win over Henan Jianye in the 16th round of Chinese Super League (CSL) on Sunday, Dalian Yifang pocketed a landslide victory on the debut of their newly appointed coach Rafa Benitez.

Both teams stood on the edge of the relegation zone before the match. Dalian dominated the first half. After a long-range shot from Marek Hamsik saved by Henan's goalkeeper Wu Gong, the home team's chance came in the 20th minute when Emmanuel Boateng followed up after Yannick Ferreira Carrasco's mishit. 19 minutes later Carrasco got his own moment on a penalty kick created by Wang Jinxian. Henan saw glimmers of hope on 43 minutes when Franck Ohandza collided with Hamsik in the home penalty area, but the referee upheld his original decision, which called against Henan, after checking the VAR.

Dalian continued to build their advantage with another goal from Boateng in the 54th minute, and Henan pulled one back with a header from Olivio da Rosa, also known as Ivo, but it was too late to rewrite the result of the match.

Another match in the relegation zone ended with a 1-1 draw between Hebei China Fortune and Shenzhen. The first goal didn't come until the 60th minute when Dong Xuesheng flipped the ball into the net. It was John Mary who saved the away team in the last minutes. The Cameroonian's powerful shot found the net on 95 minutes in the penalty area.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Beijing Renhe lost to Shandong Luneng Taishan 2-0, extending their losing streak to 4 matches. Tianjin TEDA won over Jiangsu Suning 2-1. 

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