On the evening of May 22, 2013, Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club defeated Australian Central Coast Mariners Football Club at 3: 0 on the home court, and was promoted to Top 8 of 2013 AFC Champions League by virtue of the total score 5: 1. By then, Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club, the CSL giant, has been promoted to Top 8 of AFC Champions League for two consecutive sports seasons, and its position in the current CSL is irreplaceable. 

During the entire game, Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club always firmly kept the game under control, without letting the team of Arnold see a glimmer of hope. The front-field attacking partnership comprised of Gao Lin, Muriqui and Argentine midfield Conca forced the defensive line of the visiting team always in a high-pressure status. Before the end of the first half, Muriqui ran surprisingly into the penalty zone, the opponent had to foul, and Conca scored the penalty kick to achieve the score 2: 0, which meant that Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club had firmly seized the opportunity to be promoted to Top 8. In the latter half, Gao Lin, who had excellent performance at the frontline, finally got his goal; he shot at the goal after he receive the pass from Conca, and fixed the score at 3: 0. 

After the game, Marcello Lippi expressed the ambition of Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club, “Evergrande has always been dedicated to becoming a great team. We must adapt to the multi-line competition. We cannot select the game, and cannot consider some games as important and some as unimportant. Hope we can go further on each line.”