Ighalo scores first brace in China but Yatai lose to Martins’ club

Odion Ighalo scored a brace but it wasn’t enough to help Changchun Yatai avoid defeat at the hands of Obafemi Martins’ Shanghai Shenhua.

The Saturday morning match between the Chinese Super League sides ended 2-3 in favour of the visitors.

The away side took the lead in the 14th minute after Junmin Xu fed Fredy Guarin whose shot ended in the back of the net.

Shuai Li fouled Odion Ighalo in the 18-yard box in the 39th minute.

Ighalo stepped up and tucked in the resultant spot kick for his first goal in the Chinese league.

The Nigerian scored his second goal to put Yatai in the lead in the 50th minute after capitalising on a cross from Marinho.

Two minutes later, Yunding Cao of Shanghai Shenhua scored from outside the box for the visitors’ equaliser.

Ighalo was injured and taken off the field to receive medical treatment before he was replaced in the 73rd minute by Zhenyu Du.

The striker’s absence affected Yatai up front.

In the 88th minute, fellow Nigerian, Obafemi Martins, passed the ball to Giovanni Andres Moreno, who scored the winner for the visitors.

The defeat leaves Changchun Yatai bottom of the league with just one point from five games.

Shanghai Shenhua are sixth with seven points.