Hulk suitably wowed by Wu's scoring explosion

SHANGHAI - Brazil international Hulk offered warm praise after his Shanghai SIPG teammate Wu Lei topped the Chinese Super League scoring charts on Sunday by smashing four goals in one game - including a 12-minute hat-trick.

The China attacker moved to seven goals in just three matches when he singlehandedly erased Guangzhou R&F's 2-0 lead in what became a 5-2 win, including a solitary strike from Hulk.

Guangzhou R&F jumped into a 2-0 lead after just nine minutes before Wu scored in the 17th, 27th, 29th and 73rd minutes to take it away from the host.

According to the Shanghai SIPG website, he is the first Chinese player in 12 years to score a "big four" in the nation's top tier, following Shandong Luneng's Li Jinyu in 2006.

"Congratulations for the poker," Hulk posted on Weibo, referring to a four-of-a-kind hand - with four soccer balls pictured in his post. "This boy can play!"

Wu posted that he was "happy to use four goals to help the team to continue to be unstoppable. And this is a result of the whole team's effort".

It was the 26-year-old's second hat-trick of the new season after he sniped three goals in SIPG's record 8-0 hammering of newly promoted Dalian Yifang.

SIPG coach Vitor Pereira said he was "very proud of the team and the player", as Chinese fans hailed "Rocket king Wu Lei".

"There is really no argument that he is the best forward in China. Hope he can score more goals for the national team," commented one fan.

SIPG, which also has Brazilian Oscar, Asia's record transfer, in its lineup, sits atop the CSL on goal difference ahead of Shandong Luneng with maximum points after three games.

Pereira's side is also unbeaten in the AFC Champions League, where it tops Group F after three wins and a draw.

Agence France-presse