HONG KONG: Shanghai Shenhua bet Wuhan FC 3-1 after recovering from an early goal by their former defender Stephane M'bia in Suzhou as Choi Kang-hee's side picked up their second win in a row in the Chinese Super League on Thursday.

M'bia had given Wuhan the lead with a fifth-minute header but a foul by the Cameroonian defender saw Kim Shin-wook level the scores with a penalty 12 minutes before the interval.

Second-half goals from Peng Xinli and Christian Bassogog earned Shenhua all three points.

The win moves Choi's team to six points from their opening two games and they are level on points at the top of the Group B standings with cross-city rivals Shanghai Port.

Port handed Beijing Guoan a 3-1 defeat to leave Slaven Bilic's side bottom of the table as Ricardo Lopes scored two early goals for Ivan Leko's team when they met on Wednesday.

Changchun Yatai are in third spot following Thursday's 0-0 draw with Tianjin Tiger while Hebei FC are fourth after Marcao's late penalty earned a 1-0 win over Dalian Pro on Wednesday.

Teams in the 16-team Super League have been split into two groups of eight for the early rounds of the new campaign, with Group A played in Guangzhou and Group B in Suzhou.

The move has been taken to minimise travel around the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.