Beijing Guoan beat Guangzhou Evergrande to stay top of Chinese Super League

BEIJING - Jonathan Viera's goal led Beijing Guoan to beat Guangzhou Evergrande 1-0 at Tianhe Sports Center in the eighth round of the Chinese Super League (CSL) on Saturday.

Viera and Augusto made a smooth cooperation under the defence of five players and Viera scored near the penalty spot in the 64th minute, extending Beijing Guoan's winning streak to eight and refreshing the best start of the Chinese Super League in history.

With the victory, Beijing Guoan keep the top position of the table with 24 points from 8 games.

"The league has only played eight rounds and we are only six points ahead Guangzhou Evergrande, there is still a long way to go to win the championship." Beijing Guoan coach Schmidt said.

Guangzhou Evergrande, who won the league title seven times, are third in the table and 3 points behind the defending champion Shanghai SIPG, who won over Guangzhou R&F 2-0.

"This result is not a reflection of the game." said Zheng Zhi, captain of Guangzhou Evergrande. "We played really well but luck wasn't on our side."

Graziano Pelle's double saw Shandong Luneng eased past Hebei China Fortune 2-0 to get a forth straight victory. Pelle fired Shandong Luneng ahead in the 12th minute before completing his brace from the penalty spot 10 minutes later.

"As a forward I am happy to score twice in a match, I want to thank my teammates, they were creating opportunies throughout the match." said the 33-year-old Italian striker.

In other games on Saturday, Wuhan Zall drew 1-1 with Tianjin TEDA.