Former Southampton striker Graziano Pelle was on target as Shandong Luneng defeated Chinese Super League champions Jiangsu Suning 2-0 to lift the Chinese FA Cup on Saturday.
Pelle netted his side’s second 12 minutes from time after Wang Tong had given Shandong the lead four minutes into the second half at Suzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium.
Victory for Shandong denies Jiangsu a league-and-cup double after Cosmin Olaroiu’s side had won the Chinese Super League in a playoff with Guangzhou Evergrande last month.
Shandong will join Jiangsu in next year’s Asian Champions League, where China will be also represented by Guangzhou and Beijing Guoan, who qualified by finishing in third in the Chinese Super League.
(Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
