CSL: Rafa Benitez’s Dalian Pro beaten, Cedric Bakambu bags Beijing Guoan brace
- Shijiazhuang Ever Bright draw first blood in their relegation group meeting against Rafa Benitez’s Dalian Pro
- Beijing Guoan come back from two goals down against Shandong Luneng to leave Chinese Super League tie in the balance
The Chinese Super League’s season restart continued apace on Saturday with the second matches of the championship and relegation stages.
In the title-deciding tournament in Suzhou, Beijing Guoan and Shandong Luneng played out a 2-2 draw in front of their fans to put the pressure on both sides in Thursday’s second leg.
Shandong opened the scoring in the 25th minute through Italian forward Graziano Pelle. The former Southampton striker made no mistake from the spot before teammate Jin Jingdao but the Shandong side 2-0 up before half-time.
Beijing Guoan were indebted to their Democratic Republic of the Congo international striker Cedric Bakambu who bagged a brace to leave honours even ahead of their second leg.
Bakambu pulled a goal back from the penalty spot just after the restart before heading home an equaliser with 20 minutes left. Neither side could find a winner before full-time.