Shanghai Shenhua beat Beijing Guoan 3-1 in battle for top spot in CSL

Shanghai Shenhua defeated Beijing Guoan 3-1 on the road on Saturday night, surpassing the home side to take sole possession of the lead in the Chinese Super League (CSL) standings with 41 points after 17 matches. Guoan fell to second place, three points behind Shenhua.

Beijing had been undefeated with 11 wins and five draws before welcoming Shanghai to the Workers Stadium in front of a season-high 62,291 spectators.

The visitors opened the scoring early in the seventh minute, as Gao Tianyi sent in a pass from the left side and found Luis Asue for a header. Although Guoan goalkeeper Hou Sen got a hand on the ball, he couldn't stop it from reaching the net.

Shenhua doubled their advantage in the 21st minute. A long pass landed in front of Wu Xi near Beijing's box, and he sprinted past Uros Spajic to find the bottom corner of the net, keeping the visitors in control 2-0.

The hosts pulled one back five minutes later. Guga's free kick shot flew over the wall and past goalkeeper Xue Qinghao, getting Guoan back into the contest.

Dawhan appeared to bring Beijing level in the 29th minute, but the effort was disallowed because Zhang Yuning was ruled offside.

Shanghai experienced a similar moment of frustration in the 83rd minute. Yu Hanchao's strike was wiped out by an offside ruling, but he recovered to put his name on the scoresheet in the end. In the seventh minute of stoppage time, Wu set up a one-on-one chance for Yu, who netted the third and final goal of the match for Shenhua.

Saturday's Other Results (Home Teams Listed First):

Dalian Yingbo 4-0 Shandong Taishan

Shenzhen Peng City 4-0 Qingdao Hainiu

Henan 1-1 Meizhou Hakka