Shandong Luneng returned to the top of the Chinese Super League on Saturday after a first-half goal from Wu Xinghan secured a 1-0 victory over Beijing Guoan.
The win moves Shandong, coached by Felix Magath, up to 12 points from five games. They are two ahead of Shanghai SIPG, who were held 1-1 by Tianjin Quanjian.
"People always think we are a team that only scores in the second half, but today we proved that we can also score in the first," Magath, who saw Graziano Pelle miss a fifth-minute penalty, said.
"Today we started the match aggressively and put lots of pressure on our opponents. We created lots of chances and controlled the situation, and I'm very happy that we beat a strong team like Beijing."
Shanghai SIPG had led in their game when Wu Lei converted from close range, but Alexandre Pato scored his first goal of the season for Tianjin 14 minutes into the second half.
Shanghai Shenhua overcame Carlos Tevez's absence through injury to notch a 3-2 win over Changchun Yatai.
Giovanni Moreno scored the winner two minutes from time after Odion Ighalo's brace for Changchun had looked likely to earn a point.
"Shenhua hasn't won here for 10 years and after this game all of us should feel very happy," head coach Gustavo Poyet said.
"This win is very important for us as we will play our fourth consecutive away game next week."
Meanwhile, Jiangsu Suning moved off the bottom with a 1-1 draw against Henan Jianye, former Chelsea star Ramires cancelling out Christian Bassogog's opener 11 minutes from time.
Chongqing Lifan picked up their first win of the season on Friday with a 2-1 victory over Guizhou Zhicheng when Wu Qing scored three minutes from time.
Guangzhou R&F, who led the standings at the start of the weekend, face Liaoning Whowin on Monday.
Defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande take on Tianjin Teda and Hebei CFFC face Yanbian Funde, both on Sunday.