In the fierce confrontation of the seventh round of the Chinese Super League, Nantong Zhiyun took the field on their home turf against Shanghai Shenhua. At the beginning of the match, Shenhua’s Malailei broke the deadlock with a goal just 3 minutes in, taking the lead for his team. Later, in the 82nd minute of the game, Teixeira successfully expanded the score, eventually helping Shenhua win the away game with a score of 2-0.
With this victory, Shanghai Shenhua continues to dominate the top of the league table with a record of 6 wins and 1 draw, accumulating 19 points. Nantong Zhiyun, on the other hand, sits at 12th place on the table with a record of 1 win, 2 draws, and 4 losses, accumulating 5 points.
The starting line-ups for the two teams in this confrontation are as follows:
The players for Nantong Zhiyun include:
- Number 14 Chen Zhao
- Number 5 Ma Sheng
- Number 13 Song Haoyu
- Number 20 Anthony (F)
- Number 34 Luo Xin
- Number 6 Yang Mingyang
- Number 16 Putzlin (F)
- Number 17 Ji Shengpan
- Number 25 Cao Kang
- Number 9 Godines (F)
- Number 29 Zheng Haoqian
The players for Shanghai Shenhua include:
- Number 30 Bao Yaxiong
- Number 4 Jiang Shenglong
- Number 5 Zhu Chenjie
- Number 13 Manafa (F)
- Number 16 Yang Zexiang
- Number 6 Amadou (F)
- Number 10 Teixeira (F)
- Number 15 Wu Xi
- Number 17 Gao Tianyi
- Number 9 Andre Luiz (F)
- Number 11 Malailei (F)
Looking back at the match, Malailei gave Shenhua the lead just 2 minutes and over 20 seconds after the start, receiving a pass from Andre Luiz and easily scoring. Although Nantong Zhiyun performed well tactically, they were unable to convert their chances into goals. Both teams were comparable in terms of stats by the end of the first half, but Shenhua had a slight advantage in the number of shots.
After the second half, it was evident that Shenhua was not in a rush to expand the score, while Nantong Zhiyun was trying to adjust their line-up to pursue an equalizer. Shenhua, leveraging the depth of their squad, saw Teixeira score a crucial goal in the 82nd minute with an assist from Xu Haoyang. At the end of the match, Shanghai Shenhua defeated their opponent with a score of 2-0, continuing to lead in the point table.
There are different opinions on a victory in a match. Some fans might think that Shanghai Shenhua’s victory over Nantong Zhiyun was not spectacular enough, as based on strength comparison, Nantong Zhiyun belongs to the lower middle tier of the teams, while Shenhua is the unbeaten leader in the Chinese Super League. Observing the match data and process, Shenhua did not show a dominant advantage and even had fewer shots than the opponent.
However, if you look at the match from a different perspective, Shenhua’s victory might just align with their expectations. Having just gone through two consecutive rounds in the Chinese Super League, Shenhua appeared more conservative in their lineup rotation, which also led to a certain level of fatigue evident in the team alongside the end of their winning streak. Under such circumstances, Shenhua did not opt for a resounding victory in this round, but rather chose a more “efficient and economical” way of winning. This was not only an adjustment to the weariness caused by the lack of rotation last week but also a way to conserve energy for upcoming matches.
Next up, Shanghai Shenhua will face another key game—the Shanghai Derby. All eyes will be on the clash between Shanghai Port and Shanghai Shenhua held on April 27th at 19:35. Indeed, it is a much-anticipated highlight match worthy of every fan’s attention.
