Sun Jihai's goals in the Premier League
Has Sun Jihai scored in the Premier League?
Sun Jihai has scored 3 goals in the Premier League. Sun Jihai's first Premier League goal came on October 26, 2002, when the player joined Manchester City, then in League One, for a fee of 2 million pounds in 2002
. A week after joining the Premier League, Sun Jihai made his City debut as a substitute. In October 2002, Sun Jihai scored a header in a league match away to Birmingham, which was not only his first goal in the Premier League, but also the first goal scored by a Chinese in the Premier League.
The British press praised him, hailing him as China's sun
The following year he scored his first goal in Europe, against Wales. The following year he scored his first European goal, against a Welsh team, making him the first Chinese player to score in both European cups. By the 2005 Premier League, he had become an absolute mainstay of City's team, starting almost every game.
In the away match against Fulham that year, he contributed a very classic return to defense. Before the end of the game, Manchester City got a free kick, the goalkeeper also rushed to the penalty area, ready to grab a header, to help his team to equalize the score after falling behind. However, the goalkeeper failed and Fulham launched a very fast counter-attack after winning the ball. Sun Jihai was able to recover and clear the ball from the goal line in front of four attacking players. 2006 saw Sun extend his contract with Manchester City for another year and made 100 official Premier League appearances for the team. 2008 saw Sun finally become captain of the team in his farewell match at Manchester City and ended his career at the club in the same year.
expanded material
Born September 30, 1977 in Dalian, Liaoning Province, Sun Jihai is a Chinese former professional footballer who played as a center back, but also as a right back and full back . Below are his key experience and Premier League stats:
Personal Experience:
Domestic Club: Sun Jihai started his career in 1995 with Dalian Wanda (later Dalian Shide) in the A-League, where he helped the team win two league titles and the CFA Super Cup in three years. He went on to play for domestic teams such as Shaanxi Chanba, Guizhou Renhe and Chongqing Lifan.
Staying in the ocean experience:
In the 1998-99 season, Sun Jihai moved to English League One side Crystal Palace, where he made a total of 23 appearances.
In the 2001-02 season, Sun Jihai moved to Manchester City for a fee of £2 million, helping the team win the Championship and promotion to the Premier League that season. 2008-09 season, Sun Jihai moved to Sheffield United, but due to injuries and a decline in form, he terminated his contract with the team after one season.
the national team
Career: Sun Jihai represented China in four World Cup qualifiers. on October 7, 2001, he helped China reach the World Cup finals for the first time in their history with a 1-0 win over Oman. in the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan, Sun Jihai was substituted in the first group game against Costa Rica due to an ankle injury, and missed the next two group games. on June 9, 2004, Sun Jihai scored his only goal in his country's World Cup qualifying match against Malaysia. On June 9, 2004, Sun Jihai scored his only goal in the history of the national team in China's World Cup qualifier against Malaysia.
Premier League stats:
Appearances: Sun Jihai has made a total of 123 appearances in the Premier League, the most by any Chinese player.
Goals & Assists: He scored 3 goals and had 5 assists (some stats show 4 assists).
Other performances: Sun Jihai was one of the first choices for City's starting right back at the time after a great defensive performance in the game, and had some highlights such as a spectacular goal line clearance
