Edu scored twice for Liaoning, producing two ice-cool finishes either side of half-time as the visitors jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the 76th minute.

R&F pulled a goal back four minutes later but the home side did not have enough time to have any genuine hope of a comeback as Liaoning slotted in behind Guangzhou Evergrande and Beijing Guoan on the CSL standings.

Zambian striker James Chamanga gave Liaoning the lead in just the fourth minute on Saturday with a thumping strike from the edge of the penalty area.

Chamanga received a throw-in on the left-hand sideline from Liaoning captain Zhao Junzhe, turned towards goal and having created some space for himself, unleashed a rocket past Cheng Yuelei in Guangzhou's goal.

R&F skipper Yakubu Aiyegbeni completely missed the opportunity to equalise three minutes later when a cross flashed across goal and past the 30-year-old Nigerian.

After Australian defensive midfielder Rostyn Griffiths hit the bar for the home team, Yakubu made up for his previous miss, tapping the ball home on the half-hour mark after Rafael Coelho's free-kick was only blocked by Liaoning goalkeeper Zhang Lu.

The hosts continued to have more goal-scoring opportunities but it was Liaoning who scored next when Zhao slipped the ball inside to Zheng Tao in the 40th minute, the visiting full-back's shot falling at Edu's feet and the 31-year-old Brazilian reacted swiftly to score.

Liaoning made it 3-1 in spectacular fashion on the hour when Kim Tae-Yan lobbed Cheng from the edge of the area.

R&F had a goal ruled out for a push in the penalty area soon after and then were denied what looked to be a genuine penalty in the 71st minute and the home side's anger increased five minutes later when Edu grabbed his second goal of the game.

The former Schalke striker ran onto Xu Bo's pass and dinked the ball over Cheng and into the net, effectively ending the match, although Coelho added a second for R&F in the 80th minute.

In other CSL results, Shandong Luneng defeated Dalian Aerbin 1-0, while Shanghai Shenhua and Tianjin Teda, the two clubs handed six-point penalties for match fixing before the season, played out a scoreless draw.