Debut win for Lippi's Guangzhou
Guangzhou Evergrande marked the appointment of Marcello Lippi by extending their lead at the top of the Chinese Super League to five points with a 1-0 win over Qingdao Zhongneng.
Gao Lin netted the only goal of the game in the 68th minute as Evergrande, who on Thursday appointed Italy's World Cup-winning coach Lippi as the replacement for Lee Jang-soo, picked up their eighth win in 11 matches this season.
Beijing Guoan climbed up to second spot above Guangzhou R&F, who lost on Saturday, with a 1-0 win at Changchun Yatai, Piao Cheng scoring the winner after 22 minutes.
In Sunday's other match, Liaoning beat Tianjin Taida 2-1 thanks to a last-minute penalty winner from Zhao Junzhe. Liaoning had taken a 47th-minute lead through Milos Trifunovic only to be pegged back eight minutes from time when Sjoerd Ars scored from the spot.