1,500 football fans were allowed to watch this match in the stadium and it marked the first time in the Chinese Super League since action resumed on the 25th of July after a long break.
The match looked like a one-side game in the first half as Evergrande firmly controlled the game. However, they could hardly create a real goal-scoring chance due to resolute defending from R&F.
Dragan Stojković’s side barely created any chances and the first half ended goalless.
The second half started with Evergrande the better side again but it was their rivals who opened the scoring.
In the 60th minute, Dia Saba shocked Evergrande’s goalkeeper with a close range shot in a fast counter attack. 13 minutes later, Anderson Talisca leveled the score with a similar long drive. Two minutes after that, Evergrande’s Fernando Henrique scored a goal that was ruled out for offside. In the 85th minute, he saw yet another goal denied again.
There was to be late drama in the game as Paulinho grabbed the winning goal for Evergrande in the 93rd minute to secure the winner for his side.
The result sees Guangzhou Evergrande maintain a five point lead at the top of the Chinese Super League after the ninth round with a tally of 22 points. Guangzhou R&F continue with another consecutive loss and find themselves one from bottom of the table with just seven points so far.
Guangzhou Evergrande will return to the pitch next Wednesday and will take on fifth-place Shenzen FC. On the other hand, Guangzhou R&F will play a day earlier when they host bottom of the table Henan Jianye.
