BEIJING, May 10 (Reuters) - Brazilian midfielder Ricardo Goulart completed a hat-trick for the defending Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande in their 6-1 thrashing of Shanghai Shenxin on Sunday.
Goulart opened the scoring with a first half penalty then knocked in two more goals in the second term as Guangzhou stayed within a point of the league leaders.
Shanghai SIPG maintained their unbeaten start to the season and kept their spot at the top of the table with 21 points with a 5-0 hammering of Shanghai Shenhua on Saturday, including four goals after the break.
Beijing Guo'an remained third, three points behind Shanghai SIPG, after a 2-1 win over Changchun Yatai.