China made a superb team effort in their Asia Cup opener on Tuesday to smash co-hosts Malaysia 5-1 in Kuala Lumpur. Han Peng and Wang Dong each bagged two while Shao Jiayi made a solitary effort count to take China to the top of Group C.

Despite an awful 1-4-3 record at previous cup openers, China maintain their unbeaten streak against Malaysia who have not beaten China in 12 internationals.

Chinese soon showed their superior skill with Wang Dong unleashed the first shot of the game only to be denied by Malaysian goalie Azizon Kadir only 2 minutes into the first half. Han Peng then opened the dam for China with a header in the 15th minute connecting with a sideline pass by Wang Dong.

China controlled the game, built up their attacks and struck again in the 36th minute when Chinese captain and former Charlton Athletic midfielder Zheng Zhi fed Shao Jiayi a perfect set-up into an open goal.

The continuous attacks broke through Malaysia's defense again after the break with Wang Dong and Han Peng both scoring within 4 minutes.

Mahayuddin Indra Putra saved the home team's honor by scoring with a long-range shot on 72 minutes but Wang Dong put Malaysia to the sword in injury time with a header making it 5-1.

China will next face tournament favorites Iran on July 15 while Malaysia will try to regain its footing against Uzbekistan a day earlier.

"China performed magic steps and today's match didn't belong to us," said Mahayuddin Indra Putra.

"We controlled the ball and we controlled the game," said China's head coach Zhu Guanghu, adding that "the final game of the group stage will be the most important one."

Before the clash, event co-hosts Thailand tied Iraq 1-1, Vietnam beat the United Arab Emirates 2-0 and Indonesia upset Bahrain 2-1.

(China.org.cn by Li Xiao July 11, 2007)