(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Brazilian international Hulk scored one and made another as Shanghai SIPG all but sealed its spot in the AFC Champions League (ACL) semifinals with a 4-0 first-leg rout of Guangzhou Evergrande on Tuesday.
Barring a miracle Luiz Felipe Scolari's Evergrande is out of the quarterfinal all-Chinese tie even with the home leg to come.
Scolari's men were 0-2 down by halftime and two second-half goals in as many minutes by Chinese international Wu Lei, one fed by Hulk, put the tie out of sight.
Shanghai scored first after attacking midfielder Wu went over under minimal contact in the box and Hulk stepped up to ram home the penalty on 38 minutes. It was his seventh goal in the Champions League this season.
On the brink of half time Andre Villas-Boas's side made it 2-0, skipper Wang Shenchao popping up at the backpost to bundle the ball in.
Wu punished Guangzhou with just over an hour on the clock with a classy solo effort and on 64 minutes he scored again after being played in by the rampaging Hulk for 4-0 and game over. The second-leg takes place on September 12.
In the first AFC Champions League quarterfinal first leg, on Monday, Al Ain of the UAE was held 0-0 at home by Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal.
In sweltering conditions, UAE's Al Ain, the inaugural winners of the competition and the runner-up last year, produced most of the chances but some stout defending prevented them from scoring.
And despite being down to ten men for the final quarter, the hosts held on for a draw and will head to Saudi Arabia on September 11 for the all-important second-leg.
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