Guangzhou's 3.2 million euros recruit Cleo scored his first goal to help the team beat Dalian 1-0 in the opening round of Chinese Football Association Super League (CSL) here on Saturday night.
The Brazilian forward, who scored 10 goals for Partizan Belgrade in the 2010-2011 European champions league just before joining Guangzhou with China's record transfer fee of 3.2 million euros, has very few chances in his CSL debut. But it is enough for the 25-year-old to grasp one to stamp his authority.
The goal came just after the interval when Cleo's attempt was deflected by a defending player and went into the back of the net.
But it seemed the visitors had more chances to open the scoring before the goal.
"The team was a little tight in the first half. Our boys wanted a win too badly," Guangzhou coach Lee Jang-Soo said.
Lee said the team watched the video replay during the break and "finally found their positions in the second half".
The two teams put up a great show in the second half. Despite Cleo's winning goal, Dalian also missed several close shots with a one-on-one blocked by Guangzhou's keeper Li Shuai. Muriqui also missed Guangzhou's second by hitting a curving free kick into the bar just before the whistle.
