The record signing Alex Teixeira netted twice to lift Jiangsu Suning to a 3-0 victory over Shandong Luneng at home in the first round of the 2016 Chinese Super League (CSL) on Saturday evening.
In less than three minutes, the newly signed Brazilian forward Ramires Santos do Nascimento tapped the ball over goalkeeper Wang Dalei into the box to put Jiangsu in the lead after centre-back Gil of Shandong Luneng slipped in defending.
Teixeira who joined Jiangsu Suning from Shakhtar Donetsk with a giant 50 million euros transfer contract, netted his first goal in the CSL as the 26-year-old Brazilian made an excellent chip in the 66 minutes. The former Ukrainian Premier League top scorer then helped Jiangsu Suning seal the win by scuffing the shot from a narrow angle with five minutes left.
The 2016 CSL debutant Yanbian got their first goal in the 54 minutes while visiting Shanghai Greenland. Its South Korean striker Ha Tae-Kyun opened the scoring in the 54 minutes as the 28-year-old got a pass from Chi Zhongguo and made into the penalty area to knock the ball into the net.
Shanghai Greenland managed to equalize through Demba Ba from the spot after Yanbian defender Sun Jun committed a foul in the penalty area. Thus, both teams got their first point apiece with a 1-all tie in the first round.
Elsewhere, Swedish striker Osman Sow's goal helped Henan Jianye beat last season's runners-up Shanghai SIPG at home. After goalkeeper Yan Junling stopped the shot from Philippine forward Javier Patino, the 25-year-old Osman rushed ahead to put in the follow shot in the 31st minute.
After Henan defender Yang Kuo was sent off for kicking Elkeson de Oliveira Cardoso, Shanghai SIPG still failed to find the equalizer as Wu Lei shot over the bar off a free kick from Dario Conca.
On Friday, Hebei China Fortune, the debutant of CSL in 2016, savored an away win 2-1 over Guangzhou R&F. Ersan Gulum had the most dramatic moments as the newly-signed defender first netted an own goal in the 11th minute, then headed in an equalizer in the 28th minute. Gervinho, who joined in Hebei during the winter transfer window for 18 million euros, sealed the game for the visitors in the 39th minute.
Four matches are left in the first round, with three on Sunday and the last next Wednesday when Tianjin Teda host Beijing Guoan.
