SIPG defeats Jeonbuk, Evergrande ties Suwon

DOHA -- With Hulk's late winning penalty, Shanghai SIPG edged Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2-1, while Guangzhou Evergrande held a no goal draw with Suwon Bluewings in the AFC Champions League here on Sunday.

Shanghai SIPG broke the deadlock in the 11th minute, seeing Lv Wenjun beat Jeonbuk's goalkeeper Song Bum-keun one-on-one.

Jeonbuk, one of the best football teams in South Korea, leveled up in the 24th minute through Gustavo Henrique Sousa's goal in the central box after receiving Kim Bok-yung's long pass.

At the beginning of the second half, both created and missed chances. Shanghai SPIG brought its main non-Chinese midfielders Oscar and Aaron Mooy on and started to gain the upper hand.

In the 56th minute, Mooy's volley found his rivals' left post. With former Brazil international Hulk's appearance in the 63rd minute, the 2018 Chinese Super League (CSL) winner played some fine offensive football.

In the 81st minute, Hulk converted in a penalty, which was made by Oscar, helping SIPG retake the lead. And Jeonbuk failed to respond again before the final whistle.

When facing against Suwon Bluewings, the 2013 and 2015 AFC Champions League (ACL) winner didn't have midfielders Zheng Zhi and Paulinho in its squad, trying to find chances in the counter-attacks.

Suwon Bluewings almost took the lead in the 58th minute, but Kim Tae-hwan's long shot went wide. In the 75th minute, Wei Shihao almost netted the winner for the Evergrande, but the local Chinese star missed a close-range shot.

Zhang Linpeng of the Evergrande suffered an eyebrow injury and was sent to the hospital, making the 2020 Chinese Super League runner-up use all the available substitutions when 12 minutes of the regular time remaining on the clock.

Guangzhou Evergrande built a solid defense system before the whistle, pocketing one point in the season's first ACL game.