Tianjin Quanjian's Brazilian import Alexandre Pato missed an 88th-minute penalty as 10-man Shanghai Shenhua held on for a fiery 1-1 draw in the Chinese Super League on Saturday.

The Brazilian, who cost 18 million euros ($19.2 million) from Villarreal in January, blazed over the bar after referee Li Haixin provoked a furious reaction from fans at Shanghai's Hongkou Stadium by awarding the spot-kick for a handball.

Former AC Milan star Pato was mocked after the miss by Shenhua midfielder Sun Shilin, who sarcastically patted the striker on the back and gave a thumbs-up to his face.

The 27-year-old Brazilian, recruited by manager Fabio Cannavaro in the winter transfer window, has endured a torrid and goalless start to his career in China.

He missed several chances to open his goal account when Tianjin slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Guangzhou R&F in their season opener a week ago.

"In football, a lot of players miss penalties," said Cannavaro, according to the Shanghai Daily newspaper. "I regard it as bad luck. I'm generally happy with the team's performance."

It was a dramatic end to a bad-tempered and dramatic encounter that had seen Gus Poyet's Shenhua reduced to 10 men in the first half.

Qin Sheng was given a straight red card for a stamp on the ankle of Quanjian's Belgian star Axel Witsel.

That left Argentine striker Carlos Tevez, reportedly the world's highest paid player with a salary of 38 million euros a year, largely isolated up front.

But Shenhua, roared on by a vociferous near 33,000-capacity crowd, took a surprise lead with 16 minutes to go when Giovanni Moreno latched onto a clever backheel by Cao Yunding to fire home an unstoppable left-foot finish.

Witsel equalised with his first goal since his 20 million euro move from Zenit St Petersburg.

The 28-year-old shook off marker Fredy Guarin to lash home a superb left-foot volley from Wang Yongpo's corner.

But many thought Witsel was lucky to be on the pitch after minutes earlier receiving only a yellow card after appearing to elbow the Colombian Guarin.

"Both teams picked up a lot of yellow cards in the match," said Shenhua boss Poyet. "Controlling emotions is a complicated issue, and our team should have done better.

"But this is our players' character. If you force them to control themselves, it might affect their performance."

The other two matches played Saturday also ended in 1-1 draws.

Hong Kong international Festus Baise gave Guizhou Zhicheng a 23rd-minute lead at home to Beijing Guoan. But Turkey's Burak Yilmaz equalised before half-time.

And Che Shiwei put Hebei Fortune into an early lead against Chongqing Lifan before Brazilian Alan Kardec's 32nd-minute strike ensured the points were shared.