Defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande moved to the top of the Chinese Super League for the first time this season as Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side handed Henan Jianye a 4-2 defeat.
The three points secured from this match helped Guangzhou Evergrande overtake local rivals Guangzhou R&F at the summit thanks to the superior goal difference.
Ricardo Goulart scored a hat-trick, including two penalties, as the six-time Chinese Super League winners moved onto 16 points and ahead of R&F, who were beaten 3-1 by Guizhou Zhicheng on Friday evening.
“Today was a very entertaining and intense match,” Scolari said.
“We grasped the opportunity when we needed to score. I think the result is consistent with the performance.”
The win was Guangzhou’s third in a row in the league, and their fourth in all competitions following Tuesday’s 6-0 thrashing of Hong Kong side Eastern Sports Club in the Asian Champions League.
Meanwhile, Hebei CFFC moved up to sixth with a 4-0 rout against Tianjin Teda.
Ezequiel Lavezzi scoring twice as Manuel Pellegrini’s side bounced back from last week’s defeat against Shanghai Shenhua.
Shenhua’s game against Shandong Luneng was postponed, which means Gustavo Poyet’s side dropped down to seventh with Beijing Guoan moving above their bitter rivals thanks to a 4-2 win over Liaoning Whowin.
Jiangsu Suning’s poor run continued with a 2-2 draw against last season’s second division champions Tianjin Quanjian.
The draw leaves Choi Yong-soo’s team rooted to the bottom of the league with just three points after 7 games.