Guoan beat Renhe in Beijing derby; naturalized Li Ke appears

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In the Chinese Super League (CSL), Beijing Guoan edged past their city rivals Beijing Renhe 1-0 in a much-anticipated derby at Fengtai Stadium.

The Beijing derby also saw Guoan's Li Ke becoming the first naturalized player to appear in the league while Yu Dabao stole the spotlight by missing a penalty in the first half. However, it was Yu who made amends in the second to script Guoan's away win.

Earlier, in the 39th minute, Renato Augusto's fine pass found Jonathan Viera but he was immediately brought down by a Renhe defender. As a result, Guoan were awarded a penalty kick.

But their captain Yu sent the ball straight to the goalkeeper, blowing the golden chance to give the visitors the lead.

Li Lei and Li Ke (R) of Beijing Guoan pincer attack Cao Yongjing of Beijing Renhe during the CSL match against Beijing Renhe at Fengtai Stadium, Beijing, March 30, 2019. /VCG Photo

Five minutes after the break, the much-fancied Guoan came close, but Zhang Xizhe's shot was well saved by Renhe's Zhang Lie.

Just four minutes later another chance for Roger Schmidt's side was squandered as Viera's effort hit the crossbar.

Guoan finally found the net in the 61st minute. Li Lei's cross was met by Yu's head before crossing the goalline as the visitors clinched the lead.

Guoan held on to their lead and won the game to stay second behind Shanghai SIPG on goal difference.

Yu Dabao of Beijing Guoan celebrates during the CSL match against Beijing Renhe at Fengtai Stadium, Beijing, March 30, 2019. /VCG Photo

Meanwhile, defending champions Shanghai SIPG went past Hebei China Fortune FC 2-1 to on top of the league table with a vital away win.

In the eighth minute, Jiang Zhipeng sent the ball into the box but Dong Xuesheng's header hit the post. Subsequently, Yin Hongbo's shot was cleared by defenders.

One minute later, a long pass from SIPG backcourt resulted in a terrible misunderstanding between Jiang and Geng Xiaofeng and allowed Elkeson to find the empty net. Shanghai SIPG fans were relieved as they went up in the game.

In the 43rd minute, Dong almost doubled the lead but China's national team goalkeeper Yan Junling parried that attempt with a great save.

Shanghai SIPG players pose before the CSL match against Hebei CFFC, Langfang Stadium, Hebei Province, China, March 30, 2019. /VCG Photo

But Hebei were able to find a way through in the 73rd minute when Yin's low pass found Ayoub El Kaabi and the Moroccan's sliding shot leveled the score at 1-1.

However parity didn't last long as Li Shenglong set up Odil Akhmedov and his second goal of this season gave the champions the lead again. SIPG hung on to the 2-1 win to stay atop of the league table.

In other games, Guangzhou Evergrande edged past Dalian Yifang 1-0 thanks to a goal from Anderson Talisca.