(Reuters) - Shanghai SIPG's Brazilian striker Elkeson scored the winner against his former side Guangzhou Evergrande on Tuesday to seal a 2-1 victory in a top-of-the-table clash that opened up a four-point gap at the Chinese Super League summit.
The teams were meeting in a rescheduled game after the fixture had been postponed last month due to bad weather. The win moves SIPG clear of second-placed Evergrande, who are attempting to win the title for a record-extending eighth straight year.
China international and super league top scorer Wu Lei netted his 21st goal of the season with a forceful finish high into Zeng Cheng's goal to put SIPG in front with less than a minute on the clock.
Former Barcelona midfielder Paulinho levelled with a close-range header 11 minutes into the second half, only for Elkeson to capitalise on a clever free kick from former Chelsea player Oscar to claim the winner 19 minutes from fulltime.
With eight games remaining, SIPG top the table with 49 points, four ahead of Evergrande who are level on 45 points with third place Beijing Guoan.
(Reporting by Michael Church; Editing by Toby Davis)