Ricardo scores twice as Jianye beat Quanjian

Portugal forward Ricardo Vaz Te scored twice as Henan Jianye inflicted the second Chinese Super League defeat on Tianjin Quanjian this month.

Quanjian smashed Jianye 4-0 in their first meet of this season. The team who had been one of the last eight teams in the year's AFC Champions League could have broken the deadlock in the second minute, but South Korean defender Kwon Kyung-Won shot over the bar, reports Xinhua news agency.

Quanjian took the upper hand at the beginning of the match, but Ricardo headed in from a corner in the 29th minute. Paulo Sousa's club suffered its second setback before the half time whistle as Zheng Dalun was sent off by the VAR system after a fierce tackle.

Ricardo's close range shot in the 51st minute enlarged Jianye's advantages to two, but Alexandre Pato pulled one back with a fantastic solo goal in two minutes.

Pato forced goalkeeper Wu Yan into a good save before the final whistle. Without Belgium international Axel Witsel, Quanjian could hardly pass through its opponent's solid defense line.

Borussia Dortmund were reportedly eager to activate buy-out clause in Witsel's contract, but Quanjian owner Shu Yuhui said that Witsel would return to China on Sunday. After the team's 16th match day, Tianjin had conceded two straight defeats in CSL.

"I am very happy to snatch the victory here. Thanks to all my teammates, because everyone had tried his best to salvage three points tonight," said Ricardo after the game.

In other games played on Saturday, Changchun Yatai held Shanghai Greenland Shenhua 1-1, Beijing Renhe held Chongqing SWM Motors to a 1-1 draw.

--IANS

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