Elkeson leads Brazilian carnival
SIPG top Group F after perfect three wins
Shanghai SIPG’s prolific marksman Elkeson scored with an outrageous 45- yard ( 41- meter) effort as China’s Brazilian imports justified their expensive price tags in the Asian Champions League on Wednesday.
Hulk, a 55 million euro ($ 58 million) signing from Zenit St Petersburg, was another Brazilian on the score sheet as Andre Villas- Boas’ SIPG kept their 100 percent record in Group F with a 3- 2 win against Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds.
SIPG’s Chinese Super League rivals Jiangsu Suning also dispatched their Japanese opposition as former Chelsea midfielder Ramires was enjoying a carnival of his own at Gamba Osaka, scoring the only goal in a man- of- the- match performance.
Elkeson’s stunning strike past the stranded goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa put SIPG 2- 0 ahead on the stroke of halftime after Shi Ke’s headed opener.
With Brazil international and record 60 million euro signing Oscar pulling the strings in midfield, it soon became 3- 0 on 52 minutes when Hulk used all his strength to brush off three challenges before slotting through the hapless Nishikawa’s legs.
Urawa got one back against the run of play when Rafael Silva was hauled down in the box and got up to convert the penalty himself. And Wataru Endo’s scrambled goal six min- utes from time gave SIPG a few nervy moments before the fulltime whistle.
Meanwhile in Osaka, Ramires was running the show as Jiangsu stayed on top of Group H with a 1- 0 win as the big- spending club go in search of their first Asian title.
The Brazilian midfielder, who cost Jiangsu 28 million euros from Chelsea in January 2016, struck a gorgeous finish with his left foot from 20 yards six minutes before halftime.
Gamba threw everything forward in the second half as they went in search of an equalizer, but it was Jiangsu who went closest to another goal with some lightning counterattacking led by Ramires and fellow Brazilian Alex Teixeira, who cost 50 million euros from Shakhtar Donetsk.
The result put Jiangsu five points clear at the top of Group H with a perfect three wins from three games.
Former Asian champions Western Sydney Wanderers had lost both of their opening Group F games, but they stunned FC Seoul 3- 2 in the South Korean capital in the upset of the night.
Another Australian side, Adelaide United, got their first point of the campaign after coming from behind twice in a pulsating 3- 3 draw at home to Korea’s Jeju United in the other Group H match.