Edu (No.9) of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors shoots against Wang Dalei of Shandong Luneng during their Asian Champions League group match on Tuesday in Ji'nan, Shandong Province. Photo: Xinhua

Yang Xu scored but then saw red for a Diego Maradona-style handball as Shandong Luneng crashed 4-1 to Jeonbuk ­Hyundai Motors in the Asian Champions League on Tuesday.

Yang belted his third goal in just two games for Shandong but the striker turned ­villain when he was sent off for a ­repeat of Maradona's famous "hand of God" incident of 1986.

The Chinese FA Cup ­holders were struggling at 3-1 down with 11 minutes to go when the leaping Yang lifted his hand to a hanging free kick and scooped it against the post.

Yang's second yellow card, just a week after his double strike earned a 3-2 victory over Binh Duong, carried echoes of Maradona's controversial goal in Argentina's 2-1 World Cup quarterfinal win against England.

Brazilian midfielder Leonardo rounded off the scoring in injury time as 2006 champions Jeonbuk celebrated their first win in Group E.

Jeonbuk had started ­briskly and the warning signs were there when new Brazilian ­signing Edu dribbled all too ­easily into the box on 10 ­minutes ­before curling his shot just wide.

Another Brazilian, Eninho, tested Chinese international goalkeeper Wang Dalei from distance, before a moment of quality from Edu put the ­Korean side ahead.

Driving toward the box, the ex-FC Tokyo player shaped to hit a powerful shot before checking and chipping ­superbly over the despairing Wang.

Shandong's Argentine midfielder Walter Montillo wriggled into the box but shot tamely as the hosts searched in vain for a response before halftime.

After the break, defender Dai Lin was lucky only to earn a yellow card when he appeared to punch Choi Chul-soon during a tangle near the halfway line.

Brazilian striker Diego ­Tardelli hobbled off injured as the problems mounted for Shandong - before Yang put the hosts level on 61 minutes.

Zhang Wenzhao surged into the box, drawing two defenders before he poked the ball back to the on-rushing Yang, who smashed in the equalizer off the right-hand post.

But Shandong's joy lasted just 10 minutes before Han Kyo-won received Lee Jae-sung's cushion header and squirmed his shot past Wang for a 2-1 lead, silencing the noisy Ji'nan crowd.

The flamboyant Wang was at fault for Jeonbuk's third on 75 minutes when his punched clearance fell straight to Lee in the box and the midfielder cracked it home.

Shandong's game was ­effectively over after Yang's handball, but Leonardo had time to rub salt into the wound when he netted Jeonbuk's fourth in injury time.