Sports Desk
DALIAN: Former Italian international Graziano Pelle scored twice and led Shandong Luneng to a 5-1 victory over Guangzhou R&F in the 7th round of the 2019-20 Chinese Super League (CSL) on Tuesday.
In a one-sided encounter, Jin Jingdao opened the scoring for Shandong midway through the first half, before Pelle added a quickfire double to make it 3-0.
In the 42nd minute, Duan Liuyu scored his first goal of the season to give Shandong a comfortable 4-0 lead going into the break.
In the second half, Dia Saba of Guangzhou twice shot high over the bar, before Guo Tianyu added a fifth for Luneng in the 58th minute.
Guangzhou’s only consolation goal was a late strike from Saba, shortly before the final whistle confirmed Shandong’s fourth consecutive CSL win.
Despite such a comprehensive win, Shandong coach Li Xiaopeng noted there was still room for improvement. “We were lucky to seize the chances in first half, but we should have played smarter in the second half in order to save more energy,” said Li.
