Guangzhou Evergrande thrash Changchun Yatai

Guangzhou Evergrande bounced back from their opening Chinese Super League defeat on Friday evening with a 5-0 thumping of Changchun Yatai, with head coach Fabio Cannavaro warning his team will only come good after the World Cup.

Evergrande lost their season opener 5-4 to city rivals Guangzhou R&F last Friday but the seven-time champions handed out a thrashing to Changchun as both Ricardo Goulart and Alan Carvalho claimed braces.

Guangzhou failed to concede for only the second time in six games in all competitions in 2018 and Cannavaro claimed the improvement in his team's defensive performance was not due to changes made since their last outing, a 5-3 win over Jeju United in the Asian Champions League.

"I didn't do anything magical to change things within the team in a matter of days," said the Italian, whose team faced off against the South Korean side on Tuesday. "This is what I have been trying to do with the team since my first day. Sometimes how you start and how you progress does not go according to plan."

Changchun held out until the 52nd minute at Tianhe Stadium, when Gao Lin's heavily deflected effort from outside the area gave the home side the lead.

Just eight minutes later the China international turned provider when he crossed for Goulart to head home from close range, and the Brazilian made it 3-0 with another close-range header a further five minutes into the game.

Alan Carvalho added a fourth when he slid the ball low past goalkeeper Wu Yake in the 79th minute and he scored his fifth goal in the first two league games of the season six minutes from time when he headed into the roof of the net unopposed from less than six yards out.

Despite picking up their first three points of the domestic campaign, Cannavaro stressed his team remain a work in progress.

"There is still a lot of work to be done," he said. "I know very well that the team will have to go through a lot before the middle of June.

"The first thing will be to ensure that each player finds his best condition and I'm quite convinced that after the World Cup break you will see a brand new Guangzhou Evergrande."