HONG KONG : Wuhan Three Towns maintained their four-point lead at the top of the Chinese Super League with a comfortable 3-0 win over Guangzhou City as clubs made a return to their home stadiums for the first time in almost three years.
Newly promoted Wuhan, the surprise package of the campaign, claimed all three points as play resumed following the break for last month’s East Asian Championship, with second-half goals from Davidson, Xie Pengfei and Ademilson securing the win.
The game was played at Guangzhou’s Yuexiushan Stadium and was one of four held at the hosts’ venue after home-and-away play was restored to the league for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The league has been conducted in biosecure hubs for the last two-and-a-half years, but restrictions have been lifted and clubs who have been granted permits by local authorities are allowed to play at home once again.
Guangzhou City were one of four sides, along with Henan Longmen, Meizhou Hakka and Dalian Pro, able to play at home during the weekend’s round of fixtures.
Henan were roared on by a crowd of more than 6,000 as they handed Beijing Guoan a 3-0 defeat in Zhengzhou Hanghai Stadium, with Henrique Dourado, Zhong Yihao and Fernando Karanga scoring as Javier Pereira’s side consolidate their hold on third place.
Meizhou, meanwhile, notched up a 2-1 win over Wuhan Yangtze while Dalian Pro were held to a 1-1 draw by Shanghai Port in a game that drew almost 16,000 fans.
Lu Wenjun had given Shanghai the lead but Lin Liangming’s low shot into the far corner on the hour mark was met by a delighted roar from Dalian fans.
Defending champions Shandong Taishan remain in second place after a solitary goal from Cryzan gave Hao Wei’s side a 1-0 win over Tianjin Tigers while Shanghai Shenhua are in fourth following their 0-0 draw with Changchun Yatai.
Elsewhere, eight-time winners Guangzhou FC continue to struggle as they slipped to a 2-0 loss against Cangzhou Mighty Lions to remain third from bottom.
Last-placed Hebei FC lost 1-0 to Chengdu Rongcheng, and Gao Di scored twice in Zhejiang FC’s 2-0 win over Shenzhen FC.
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