Chengdu Rongcheng and Beijing Guoan battled to a 2-2 draw in their Chinese Super League (CSL) game in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, on Saturday.

Chengdu lost to Beijing 2-0 on the road in their first meeting of the season in May. But after returning home following three consecutive away games, Rongcheng were in better form than Guoan in the first half of this contest.

In the 23rd minute, Zhou Dingyang set up Romulo for the home team’s opener and a 1-0 lead. Sixteen minutes later, Felipe added the second goal for Chengdu.

After taking just one shot in the first half, Beijing adjusted their offensive strategy and started to find success in the second half. Cao Yongjing converted a corner kick for the visitors in the 52nd minute, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

That goal helped lead to more opportunities for Guoan through attacks from the wings. Rongcheng tried to strengthen their defense by replacing Tang Miao with Hu Hetao in the 65th minute, but Lin Liangming found the net for the visiting side’s second goal four minutes later, tying the score at 2-2.

Although Chengdu failed to win at home, the third-placed side remain nine points ahead of Beijing, who sit fourth in the table.

Saturday’s other Chinese Super League results (home teams listed first):

Tianjin Jinmen Tiger 1-0 Henan

Wang Qiuming scored the only goal of the game for Tianjin by exploiting chaos in front of the goal in the 22nd minute. The win is his side’s third in a row in the CSL and they remain in sixth place.

Changchun Yatai 3-2 Nantong Zhiyun

Changchun found the net first in the opening half when Serginho converted a header in the 27th minute, but then conceded goals to Issa Kallon in the 36th minute and Jiang Zilei in the 42nd. Serginho set up Robert Beric to tie the game in the 80th minute.

Stoppila Sunzu’s header for Yatai in the fifth minute of stoppage time was blocked by Nantong goalkeeper Xue Qinghao, but Tian Yuda rose above everyone else and headed the ball into the net for Changchun to secure the comeback victory.

Cangzhou Mighty Lions 2-1 Meizhou Hakka

Both sides created multiple scoring opportunities in the first half, but Cangzhou found the net first in the 40th minute when Wang Peng headed Heber’s corner kick into Meizhou’s goal.

John Mary appeared to return the favor for the visiting team four minutes later, but his effort was ruled out by the referee after checking with the video assistant referee (VAR). Mary was instead whistled a foul for pushing a defender before nodding in the header.

Georgiy Zhukov extended the lead to 2-0 for Mighty Lions after a rally that began with the hosts redirecting a pass from Hakka’s Ye Chugui in the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time.

Meizhou attacked more in the second half and Cangzhou’s Sun Mingqian was called a handball in the box, resulting a penalty kick for the visitors. Mary converted from the spot, cutting Hakka’s deficit to 2-1.

Meizhou had a chance to tie the score in the 93rd minute, when Liao Junjian’s header hit the underside of the crossbar, but the referee ruled that the whole ball didn’t cross the goal line.

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