Shandong Luneng moved a step closer to lifting the A3 Champions Cup as Aleksander Zivkovic and Zheng Zhi were on target in a 2-1 victory over Chinese Super League rivals Shanghai Shenhua.
The four-team tournament features the champions of China, Japan and South Korea, plus another invited team, and after an opening 4-3 victory over J.League counterparts and fellow AFC Champions League participants Urawa Reds, Shandong proved too strong for Shenhua for whom striker Hamilton Ricard squandered a number of chances.
The home side opened the scoring after just 10 minutes at the Shandong Sports Centre Stadium when striker Han Peng was brought down in the area by Shenhua midfielder Jiang Kun and Zivkovic dispatched the spot-kick past keeper Wang Dalei.
Former Middlesbrough frontman Ricard could have equalised when he found space in the box six minutes later but fired wide with only Li Leilei to beat, before the Shandong keeper held a close-range header after the striker got on the end of Uruguay international Sergio Blanco's cross.
Zheng, back in the side after completing a six-month loan deal with English Premiership club Charlton Athletic, bagged a second 10 minutes before the break when he tapped in a rebound after Wang had parried a long-range effort from Zivkovic.
Fellow China international Han could then have extended the lead further but Wang produced a good reflex save to deny the forward.
Ricard spurned a golden opportunity six minutes after the restart when he got on the end of another Blanco cross from the right but shot wide from close range and Diego Alonso was equally guilty in the 70th minute as he fired over the bar when one-on-one with Li.
Li kept out a fierce 25-yard free-kick from midfielder Xiao Zhanbo four minutes later before Alonso made amends eight minutes from time when he scored from the spot after being fouled in the area by full-back Shu Chang.
That proved the catalyst for a Shenhua onslaught in the dying minutes but the hosts held on to claim three points.
Shandong now just need a draw with Korean champions Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, who knocked them out of the AFC Champions League in May, in the final round on Wednesday to clinch the championship.
"We are proud of the victory. It is a well-deserved win," said Shandong's Serbian manager Ljubisa Tumbakovic.
"Now we are looking forward to the Seongnam clash."
In the other game, the Reds edged out Seongnam 1-0 thanks to the third goal of the tournament from Brazilian Washington.
The striker scored the winner five minutes before the interval when he sprang Seongnam's offside trap to latch onto a cross from Makoto Hasebe and bury a low shot into the back of the net.
Seongnam frontman Mota was sent off two minutes before the end for stamping on keeper Norihiro Yamagishi after his penalty kick was saved by the Reds custodian.
Shenhua and Reds have three points each while Seongnam are bottom of the table after two defeats.
The home side opened the scoring after just 10 minutes at the Shandong Sports Centre Stadium when striker Han Peng was brought down in the area by Shenhua midfielder Jiang Kun and Zivkovic dispatched the spot-kick past keeper Wang Dalei.
Former Middlesbrough frontman Ricard could have equalised when he found space in the box six minutes later but fired wide with only Li Leilei to beat, before the Shandong keeper held a close-range header after the striker got on the end of Uruguay international Sergio Blanco's cross.
Zheng, back in the side after completing a six-month loan deal with English Premiership club Charlton Athletic, bagged a second 10 minutes before the break when he tapped in a rebound after Wang had parried a long-range effort from Zivkovic.
Fellow China international Han could then have extended the lead further but Wang produced a good reflex save to deny the forward.
Ricard spurned a golden opportunity six minutes after the restart when he got on the end of another Blanco cross from the right but shot wide from close range and Diego Alonso was equally guilty in the 70th minute as he fired over the bar when one-on-one with Li.
Li kept out a fierce 25-yard free-kick from midfielder Xiao Zhanbo four minutes later before Alonso made amends eight minutes from time when he scored from the spot after being fouled in the area by full-back Shu Chang.
That proved the catalyst for a Shenhua onslaught in the dying minutes but the hosts held on to claim three points.
Shandong now just need a draw with Korean champions Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, who knocked them out of the AFC Champions League in May, in the final round on Wednesday to clinch the championship.
"We are proud of the victory. It is a well-deserved win," said Shandong's Serbian manager Ljubisa Tumbakovic.
"Now we are looking forward to the Seongnam clash."
In the other game, the Reds edged out Seongnam 1-0 thanks to the third goal of the tournament from Brazilian Washington.
The striker scored the winner five minutes before the interval when he sprang Seongnam's offside trap to latch onto a cross from Makoto Hasebe and bury a low shot into the back of the net.
Seongnam frontman Mota was sent off two minutes before the end for stamping on keeper Norihiro Yamagishi after his penalty kick was saved by the Reds custodian.
Shenhua and Reds have three points each while Seongnam are bottom of the table after two defeats.
Copyright (c) Press Association
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