A cruel late goal denied the Blades a creditable point against the reigning Chinese Super League champions, Changchun Yatai, on Saturday.

The Blades looked set for a second consecutive draw before a goal from Chinese international, Wang Dong, gave China's Asian Champions League contenders a 2-1 victory in the 38,000-capacity Changchun City Stadium.

Brazilian strikers Rodrigues and Dannerson were named in the starting line-up but it was captain Wang Song - last season's leading scorer - who found the target for the Blades.

He scored directly from a free-kick past China's international goalkeeper, Zong Lei, to level an early strike from Changchun's Huang Jie.

Despite the defeat, Chengdu coach Li Bing took positives, saying: "I am happy with the performance of the players. Unfortunately, we conceded two minutes before the final whistle - that was the difference between ourselves and last season's champions.

"In the first six rounds of the league we have tough games but this is a challenge for us. We have the ability to stay at this level."

Chengdu Blades: Fu Bin, Liu Cheng, Ji Mingyi, Ding Qi, Xu Chao (Zhang Chaosong 59), Wang Song, Yao Xia, Zhao Mingxin, Li Tie, Rodrigues (Xia Qixi 81), Dannerson (Zhang Yuan 65).

The Blades travel to Hangzhou city to face Jiangsu Lvcheng in midweek.