It's quite difficult to find a team more inconsistent than Beijing Guoan at the moment. In one game, the Chinese capital giants are firing on all cylinders; the next, they are pressing the self-destruct button in spectacular fashion. Their high-octane 6-2 mauling of Cangzhou Mighty Lions last Tuesday was followed up by a dispiriting 3-2 defeat at the hands of Zhejiang FC over the weekend.

One can never be certain which Beijing side will turn up on any given day, and on a dreamy Friday night at the Workers' Stadium, Stanley Menzo's players reverted to all-out attack mode against Changchun Yatai. For the neutrals, it was riveting to watch. A chaotic and topsy-turvy game threatened to deliver goals whenever anyone launched an assault.

Neither team looked capable of carrying out the most rudimentary defensive duties, but this was such electrifying entertainment that it actually enriched the spectacle rather than blunting it.

Any doomsayers among Beijing supporters would have had their heads in their hands when Changchun scored in the opening half hour. Only Li Lei knows what was going through his mind when he miscontrolled a simple pass on the left flank. The defender's subsequent errant pass led directly to the move that Leonardo finished off for a 1-0 lead.

To their credit, the hosts didn't let their nerves get the better of them. Still running relentlessly, still pressing ferociously, Beijing leveled within seven minutes. Feng Boxuan was given ample time by Changchun's full-backs to float a sublime cross to Josef de Souza, who drilled a shot into the top right corner.

The drama had only just begun. The visitors almost retook the lead within six minutes as Tan Long fired home from Li Hong's perfectly weighted through ball. Unfortunately for the 35-year-old striker, his fourth Chinese Super League goal this term was denied by an extremely marginal offside spotted by the video assistant referee (VAR).

While the call had the home fans breathing a huge sigh of relief after a long delay, it wasn't long before Souza sent the Beijing faithful wild with a glancing header from Gao Tianyi's pacy cross on the stroke of halftime.

Changchun never gave up and showed commendable persistence. They confidently took the game to Beijing after the interval and were back on level terms thanks to Leonardo's header. The imperious Brazilian was too sharp with his vision and worked his way into space in a crowded penalty box before applying a lethal finish.

Beijing can be magnificent in attack but painfully vulnerable when the opposition takes the initiative. Steadily, Changchun began to pinpoint the weak spots behind the lime green shirts as a momentary lapse of concentration by Beijing's backline saw Tan get the goal he deserved and make it 3-2.

The stadium fell silent for a moment, but the hosts responded swiftly. Gao ambled down the left and threaded a pass through the Changchun defense for Yang Liyu, who rammed home an equalizer with an unstoppable shot that flew past a stranded Wu Yake and into the net.

So it went on. From euphoria to anguish and back again, the emotional rollercoaster at the packed arena continued. Both teams went gung-ho in search of a winner, which eventually came in the 87th minute when a lightning break from Li Ke led to Kang Sang-woo shattering the visitors with a right-footed finish that settled this extraordinary piece of theater.

What to make of all this? The 4-3 triumph sees Beijing jump into fifth place at the expense of Changchun, who drop to sixth. But for Menzo, there will be alarming concerns: the brittleness at the heart of the defense (they have conceded eight goals in their last three outings) and the glaring lack of cohesion and tactical nous.

"Despite conceding three goals, we still came out on top in the end. I want to commend our players for their resilience that led us to victory," observed Menzo. "[Michael] Ngadeu, who had been bedridden for three days prior to the match, still managed to take to the pitch, and this demonstrates the team's winning spirit. However, if every game were as intense and nerve-wracking as this one, I'm not sure I could handle it.

"Ultimately, football is played for the fans, and they undoubtedly enjoy seeing their team win and score lots of goals. Of course, if we could win every game 4-3, I would be more than happy, but I worry that the stress of such a process could cause me to have a heart attack."

While the goalfest aided and abetted by calamitous defending goes some way to explaining why Beijing have fallen further behind league leaders Shanghai Port in the title race, the great consolation was that the 46,000 supporters at their glitzy new stadium were able to revel in this pure sporting gratification.