The defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande beat the visiting Hebei China Fortune 2-0 in the ninth round of the Chinese Super League (CSL) on Saturday.

With the victory, Guangzhou Evergrande harvested their eighth consecutive victory and remained the top place in the CSL standings.

Yu Hanchao broke the deadlock for the host just before the interval with follow shott. Three minutes after the start of the second half, Brazilian striker Alan sealed the win with a header.

Beijing Guoan beat last season's runners-up Shanghai SIPG 2-1 to gain the second win, as well as the first home victory of the season. The visiting Shanghai SIPG suffered an early substitute in the 10th minute as Ghana's striker Asamoah Gyan was out because of an injury.

The 31-year-old Brazilian midfielder Ralf scored for Guoan in the 24th minute. About 10 minutes later, Shanghai SIPG equalized by Jean Evrard Kouassi.

In the 50th minute, Zhang Xizhe's long distance shot restored the lead for Beijing Guoan.

Shanghai SIPG still maintained the third place, but the gap between Shanghai and the leading Guangzhou expanded to seven points. Beijing Guoan climbed to the ninth place after the victory.

The other three matches saw three scoreless ties. Henan Jianye tied Tianjin Teda 0-0, Jiangsu Suning tied Shijiazhuang Ever Bright 0-0, and Changchun Yatai tied the visiting Shandong Luneng 0-0 as well.

The other four matches of the ninth round will kick off on Sunday.
The car exploded near the Furat al-Sham Hotel in the city of Deir al-Zour, said the report, providing no further details.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said intense battles raged on Saturday between the Syrian army and the Islamic State (IS) militants.

The UK-based watchdog said 26 Syrian soldiers were killed when the IS militants infiltrated the areas southwest of Deir al-Zour, after which the militants captured a hospital.

The Syrian army has besieged the hospital amid ongoing clashes.

A military source said that the Syrian warplanes have struck the positions of IS in the vicinity of the Deir al-Zour airbase, which has also been a target of the recent IS attacks.