UpdateGuangzhou Evergrande earn time to prepare for AFC Champions League semi-final

Fighting on every front is a drain on the resources of even the biggest clubs, so Guangzhou Evergrande's Marcello Lippi was a happy man when the Chinese Super League agreed to postpone this weekend's fixture against Liaoning Whowin.

The back-to-back domestic champions may well be runaway leaders as they seek a third successive crown, but after becoming the first Chinese club since 2005 to book a place in the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League on Wednesday evening, Guangzhou will need all the rest they can acquire.

A comprehensive 4-1 thrashing of Qatari side Lekhwiya sealed a 6-1 aggregate win for Guangzhou in the competition's quarter-finals, setting up a last-four meeting with Kashiwa Reysol, with the first leg in Japan next Wednesday.

"This is a week that's very welcome for our team," said Lippi after watching his side dismantle their opponents as Dario Conca, Muriqui and Elkeson - with two - all found the back of the net.

"It's very important for us to have time to recuperate physically and psychologically."

Kashiwa had no sooner seen off Saudi Arabia's Al Shabab in Riyadh - by the away goals rule - than Guangzhou's players and officials were picking up their already packed bags and heading for the two private Gulfstream G550 jets laid on by the management of the Evergrande group that would take them home.

Preparations for the next stage in the club's plan for Asian dominance begin in earnest and the clash with the Japanese side throws up at least one intriguing subplot as it sees striker Cleo going head-to-head with his old Guangzhou teammates.