Guoan, Jianye snatch first victories in 2018 CSL

Spanish La Liga side Villarreal CF's former striker Cedric Bakambu opened his account in the second round of 2018 Chinese Super League (CSL) played on Sunday, helping Beijing Guoan see off Jiangsu Suning 2-1 and grab its first win of the season.

Beijing Guoan sees off Jiangsu Suning 2-1 and grabs the first win of the 2018 Chinese Super League (CSL) season on March 11, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

Guoan fielded a 4-3-3 formation and Brazilian international Renato Soares de Oliveira Augusto's two powerful shots failed finding the target at the beginning of the game. In the 22nd minute, Wei Shihao's long shot broke the deadlock for team Beijing.

Guoan's head coach Roger Schmidt changed his line-up, adopting a more aggressive format than that of the previous match. Beijing dominated possession with 57.3% of the ball and had further chances in the first half but missed them all.

Bakambu contributed his first CSL goal in the 62nd minute, after collecting Chi Zhongguo's pass. But Ji Xiang's outstanding free kick narrowed the gap to one in five minutes.

Augusto then helped his team build a solid defence system to secure the first victory of the season for Guoan.

Henan Jianye beats Tianjin Teda 1-0 and gets its first victory of the 2018 Chinese Super League (CSL) season on March 11, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

Henan Jianye also got its first victory of the season on Sunday. Orlando Sa netted the winner for Henan in the 7th minute to beat Tianjin Teda.

Hebei China Fortune defeats Guizhou Zhicheng 3-2 during a match of the 2018 Chinese Super League (CSL) on March 11, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

In the game played on Sunday afternoon, Ezequiel Lavezzi contributed his second goal with an astonishing finish from inside the box before the final whistle. With the 32-year-old striker's help, Hebei China Fortune defeated Guizhou Zhicheng 3-2 and kept its unbeaten record in the season 2018.