By the end of the match Jordi Cruyff must have breathed a sigh of relief as he clenched his fist to celebrate his team's first win in five games. Chongqing SWM, so often lackluster and insipid in recent outings, produced a rare display of ascendancy and vibrancy to complement their flourishing attack and emerged triumphant 3-2 in this battle of two limited sides. 

By coming from behind at Wuhan Zall's home ground to overwhelm a spirited side who was on a four-game unbeaten streak, they made a huge stride towards their endeavor to stay clear of the Chinese Super League relegation scrap and eased pressure on Cruyff, who received a lot of flak for his decision to leave Fernando out of this crucial clash. 

Although Chongqing never pressed the self-destruct button in the same way that Wuhan did by repeatedly making costly errors at the back, Cruyff's side were subdued and fell behind. Evrard Kouassi, integral to most Wuhan moves, broke the deadlock two minutes into the second half, lashing into the net with a lethal precision. 

Chongqing then, however, were immensely helped by the inexplicable sight of Wuhan midfielder Song Zhiwei panicking within four minutes of his team taking the lead as the 30-year-old needlessly conceded a penalty for handball. Alan Kardec made no mistake from the spot and levelled the score. 

Kardec then swung momentum further back in Chongqing's favor. The Brazilian was at the heart of an outstanding strike as Chongqing broke and released Adrian Mierzejewski down the left. The midfielder swept a perfect cross towards the penalty spot and there was Kardec , towering above two defenders, to steer a powerful header beyond Dong Chunyu's grasp.  

Chongqing were in dreamland and the visitors duly added a stoppage-time third to condemn Wuhan to their first league defeat in a month after Fernandinho Silva advanced menacingly on the penalty area and unleashed a fierce low shot past Dong.

A consolation goal from Evrard five minutes into injury time did make things interesting, but Chongqing held on in those dying moments and secured the vital three points, which helped them leap into sixth, only a single point behind fourth-placed Shandong Luneng. 

Elsewhere on Sunday night, Emmanuel Boateng went from "hero to zero" as the Dalian Yifang star netted a brace and then an own goal in an entertaining 2-2 draw with Tianjin Tianhai, who remain rooted at the foot of the table.