HONG KONG : Beijing Guoan slipped to a surprise 2-1 defeat by Cangzhou Mighty Lions on Sunday in their Chinese Super League opener after playing most of the second half with 10 men.
The former champions, who struggled to a fifth-place finish last year, went into the halftime break a goal down after Bughrahan Skandar steered home Oscar Maritu’s cross with his thigh two minutes before the interval.
Zhang Chengdong’s red card six minutes into the second half for grappling with Maritu as he raced towards goal further hampered Beijing.
The Congo DR striker added to Beijing’s misery when he doubled Cangzhou’s lead from the penalty spot 11 minutes from time.
Cangzhou’s Gao Hao was sent off in the 87th minute for a second bookable offence and Yu Dabao pulled one back for Xie Feng’s side.
Beijing’s loss was one of several surprises on an opening weekend in which last year’s runners-up Shanghai Port slipped to a 1-0 defeat by Wuhan Yangtze River on Saturday with Bruno Viana scoring the only goal.
Tan Long netted the first hat-trick of the season in Changchun Yatai’s 4-1 demolition of Guangzhou City with Junior Negrao also on target.
Frank Acheampong scored both goals as Shenzhen FC notched up a 2-0 win over promoted Chengdu Rongcheng while Meizhou Hakka drew 1-1 with Tianjin Jinmen Tiger and Henan Songshan Longmen were held to a 2-2 draw by Dalian Pro.
Champions Shandong Taishan kicked off their season on Friday with a 1-0 win over Zhejiang FC as Shanghai Shenhua downed Guangzhou FC 1-0 and Wuhan Three Towns secured a 4-0 victory over Hebei FC.
The opening 10 rounds of this year’s Chinese Super League are being played in three centralised biosecure hubs as the country continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
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