Guangzhou Evergrande claimed eighth beating Liaoning Whowin

Caming from a 1-2 away win over Central Coast Mariners in the first leg AFC Champions League round of 16, Guangzhou Evergrande faced Liaoning Whowin for the Chinese Super League. Marcello Lippi used his expected 4-3-3 lining up Qin Sheng as deep-lying playmaker in a three-man midfielder featuring also Zheng Zhi and Huang Bowen and utilizing Gao Lin as centre-forward with Muriqui and Elkeson in wide-forward positions while Barrios were on the bench. The first half was all about the different approach as CSL champions were active with the ball while Liaoning were defending with eight men behind the line of the ball. Up front, Liaoning’s attacking duo of  Brazilian Edu and James Chamanga weren’t proactive without the ball, giving Guangzhou centre-backs Kim Young-Gwon and Zhao Peng enough freedom in the build-up and not closing down Qin Sheng. On the left Brazilian Muriqui made nice cutting movements inside leaving free spaces for the advancing left-back Rong Hao which made some nice runs moving forward. With Liaoning sitting back, Guangzhou dominated the course of the game although they left some gaps behind, specially on the right side where Jin Taiyan operated. Guangzhou put emphasis upon attacking down the flanks with  Muriqui and Rong Hao on the left and Elkeson and Zhang Linpeng on the opposite side. Both full-backs influenced the game in the final third of the pitch. Guangzhou scored on the first real chance with Elkeson, following a corner kick play. That pointed the way for the game as the home team significantly increased its scoring opportunities. As the game went on, chances were going to come from Guangzhou and they was looking the more dangerous team again. In the second half, the attacking trio was rarely involved in the defensive phase as they were ready for the fast-breaks. Guangzhou make another score with Zhang Linpeng securing a comfortable lead before Barrios netted  two goals. At the end, Guangzhou Evergrande outplayed  Liaoning for long periods. They showed some nice passing combinations and drag rivals out of shape specially on the left side where Muriqui were dominating. Yesterday win was Guangzhou's eighth in the first nine league games of this season.