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The Democratic Republic of the Congo international scored two goals to help the Imperial Guards avoid defeat at Suzhou Sports Center
Cedric Bakambu scored a double to inspire Beijing Guoan to a 2-2 draw comeback against Shandong Luneng in the quarterfinals of the Chinese Super League Championship playoffs on Saturday.
The forward has been in excellent form for the Imperial Guards this season and again shone against Team Mount Tai.
The forward was given a starting role in the match and put on a five-star performance to help his team avoid defeat before his return outing.
Beijing Guoan started the game with his back foot, allowing Graziano Pelle to open the scoring in the 25th minute from the penalty spot.
Twelve minutes later, Jingdao Jin doubled Shandong Luneng’s lead after receiving a sumptuous assist from Junmin Hao.
After the restart, Bakambu cut the deficit in the 48th minute, converting from the penalty spot.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo international completed his double in the 69th minute after receiving a punctual pass from Lei Li.
In addition to his goal, Bakambu, who participated for 89 minutes, had 24 touches and had a 66% successful pass rate in the match.
The forward has now scored 13 goals for the Imperial Guards this season in just 15 league appearances, amid other dazzling displays.
He will hope to help his team advance to the semi-finals when they meet Shandong Luneng in the second leg on October 22.
Bakambu has been with Beijing Guoan since 2018 when he teamed up with Spanish club team Villarreal and helped them win the 2018 China FA Cup title.
The forward currently has 29 appearances for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was part of the squad at the 2019 African Cup of Nations in Egypt.