China's Shandong Luneng defied a hostile crowd to beat Japanese club Sagan Tosu 3-1 and win Hong Kong's Lunar New Year Cup on Thursday in a match dominated by foreign imports. Shandong took the field without injured star recruit Marouane Fellaini, who signed from Manchester United last week, but Brazilian centre-back Gil put the Chinese side ahead in the second minute from a corner.

His team sat deep for the rest of the first half, with Sagan Tosu's World Cup-winning striker Fernando Torres noticeably off the pace. Graziano Pelle, formerly of Premier League side Southampton, notched Shandong's second goal soon after play resumed, but Torres managed a header in reply.

The Spanish forward picked up a yellow card moments later after a spat with a referee. Flamboyant Shandong goalkeeper Wang Dalei shook off crowd abuse to block Torres' next attempt to equalise before Portugal's Pedro Delgado scored Shandong's third with 10 minutes to go.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019