Guangzhou retain China league title

guangzhou — Luiz Felipe Scolari’s rampant Guangzhou Evergrande won the Chinese Super League (CSL) for the seventh time in a row on Sunday and with two games to spare.

In what is expected to be the decorated Brazilian coach’s last season in charge, Guangzhou scored twice in three minutes in the first half as they thrashed Guizhou Zhicheng 5-1 at home.

Scolari was banned from the bench as his side romped to the victory they needed to wrap up the CSL title once more.

Under the 68-year-old Scolari, who took over from the Italian Fabio Cannavaro in 2015, Guangzhou have cemented their place as the best team in China.

They went out of the Asian Champions League in the quarter-finals to domestic rivals Shanghai SIPG, but they have once more dominated the CSL.

Guangzhou suffered a minor wobble when Brazilian international Paulinho left for Barcelona in August, but Andre Villas-Boas’s Shanghai — the nearest challengers in the CSL — failed to capitalise.

The home fans came to see a coronation on Sunday and Gao Lin headed home unmarked at a packed Tianhe Stadium to start the party on 15 minutes.

Two minutes later Guangzhou were 2-0 up as Guizhou made a mess of things in defence and another Brazilian, the forward Alan, waltzed through the nonexistent backline. —