Coleman’s team hit for six

BEIJING: Chris Coleman’s difficult start to life in Chinese football took a spectacular turn for the worse as his side were thumped 6-3 at league leaders Beijing Guoan on Thursday.The 48-year-old, who previously took Sunderland down to England’s third tier, is yet to win a match at Hebei China Fortune since taking over from Manuel Pellegrini in early June.

Hebei had drawn all three of their previous games under former Wales manager Coleman and they were chasing the game from only the seventh minute when Beijing’s Jonathan Soriano scored for the hosts. The Spanish striker went on to grab a hat-trick as Beijing returned to the top of the Chinese Super League (CSL). Hebei, who had veteran Argentine international Javier Mascherano in midfield, are 11th in the 16-team CSL.