Guangzhou v Hebei FC
Eran Zahavi nets late equaliser for Guangzhou R&F against Hebei CFFC
Eran Zahavi scored three minutes from time to salvage a point for Guangzhou R&F against Hebei CFFC as Dragan Stojkovic's side missed the opportunity to draw level with cross-city rivals Guangzhou Evergrande at the top of the Chinese Super League standings on Friday evening.
Zahavi scored less than a minute after Ezequiel Lavezzi looked to have earned Manuel Pellegrini's side all three points, but the Israel international struck to deny Hebei a third win in a row.
"This game was very difficult, very hard, competitive and also very demanding," said Stojkovic. "Our opponent is a super team.
"We can say that the team's performance was very good and we got a draw, which is a very good result. We had to fight very hard from the beginning, and after going 1-0 behind to be able to draw the game is good."
Victory would have moved R&F level on 19 points with Evergrande, who travel to take on Changchun Yatai on Sunday, but Stojkovic's side now sit in third, two points behind the leaders.
Hebei are a further point behind in fifth and Pellegrini felt his team switched off after scoring what looked to the winner in the 86th minute.
"This was a very exciting game between two advocates of offensive and beautiful football and both teams created a lot of opportunities," said the former Real Madrid coach. "We scored the first goal, but maybe we thought we were very close to victory and relaxed."
Head-To-Head
Game Information
Guangzhou, China PR
Chinese Super League Standings
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chengdu Rongcheng | 16 | 13 | 1 | 2 | +21 | 40 |
| Chongqing Tonglianglong | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | +4 | 27 |
| Dalian Yingbo | 16 | 7 | 1 | 8 | -7 | 22 |
| Shandong Taishan | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | +4 | 21 |
| Yunnan Yukun | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | +1 | 21 |
| Qingdao West Coast | 16 | 4 | 9 | 3 | -4 | 21 |
| Beijing Guoan | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | +4 | 18 |
| Zhejiang Professional FC | 16 | 6 | 4 | 6 | -5 | 17 |
| Shenzhen Xinpengcheng | 16 | 5 | 2 | 9 | -6 | 17 |
| Liaoning Tieren | 16 | 5 | 2 | 9 | -7 | 17 |
| Shanghai Shenhua | 16 | 7 | 5 | 4 | +8 | 16 |
| Shanghai Port | 16 | 5 | 5 | 6 | +3 | 15 |
| Henan Songshan Longmen | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | -3 | 15 |
| Qingdao Hainiu | 16 | 6 | 2 | 8 | -1 | 13 |
| Wuhan Three Towns | 16 | 2 | 7 | 7 | -9 | 8 |
| Tianjin Jinmen Tiger | 16 | 3 | 6 | 7 | -3 | 5 |
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