Robinho strikes twice to open Guangzhou account in China

Brazil striker Robinho bagged his first goals for new club Guangzhou Evergrande, notching twice in a 4-2 win at Shanghai Shenxin on Friday to send the champions top of the table in China.

The former Real Madrid and Manchester City forward had produced a sketchy first four displays since signing a six-month deal after leaving Santos in his homeland but found his feet against the Chinese Super League's bottom side.

He slotted a low left foot finish under goalkeeper Zhang Yinuo to put Guangzhou 2-0 up just before the hour mark after Chinese international fullback Zhang Linpeng had opened the scoring.

Robinho then struck a second low shot through the legs of the goalkeeper to finish a neat passing move by the four-times reigning champions and make it 4-1 with 10 minutes remaining.

Guangzhou, coached by Brazilian World Cup winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, went top with 51 points from 24 matches but Shanghai SIPG, coached by ex-England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, can regain first place with a win at Shanghai Shenhua on Sunday.