In a battle of powerhouse squads, Shanghai SIPG FC (7-3-6, 27 points) dropped Hebei China Fortune FC (9-4-3, 30 points) in a 2016 Chinese Super League round 16 clash, pulling off a 2-0 win at the Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium on Sunday.

Shanghai SIPG earned the victory even without their newest acquisition, Brazilian winger Hulk, and also without the services of injury-plagued Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan and an injured Argentine midfielder Dario Conca as well.

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Resident striker Elkeson, also a Brazilian, carried the burden and opened the scoring late at the 69th minute for SIPG in this high-profile match versus Hebei China Fortune on the road in Qinhuangdao. 

Elkeson "took a long Yu Hai pass, beat two Hebei defenders and sent the ball past goalie Yang Cheng" to put his team up by a point, as per Shanghai Daily.

Shanghai striker Wu Lei sealed the win at the 87th minute off an assist from Elkeson to snap the Massive's five-game winless skid, via Soccerway.

The Red Eagles signed Hulk on June 30 from Russian football club Zenit Saint Petersburg for a new Chinese transfer record of €55 million, but his highly-anticipated debut game has been delayed as the 5-foot-11 Campina Grande, Brazil has yet to settle in with his new club.

Hulk is expected to play his first game for head coach Sven-Göran Eriksson on Sunday, July 10 against contending team Henan Jianye at their home field of Shanghai Stadium.

Meanwhile, the Samba Kings are still playing without Argentine import Ezequiel Lavezzi, who just finished playing for his national squad in this summer's Copa America Centenario.

The striker has to undergo surgery, though, as he suffered a broken elbow after a freak accident during Argentina's 4-0 semifinal win over Team USA, which means head coach Li Tie's will miss him for several weeks more.

Hebei is reeling at the moment, losing their past two games and are winless in three of their last four assignments. They dropped to third place in the league table as Jiangsu Suning took over their second spot.

TagsChina Football, Chinese Super League, Chinese Super League 2016, Shanghai SIPG FC, Hebei China Fortune FC