This season, Shanghai Shenhua has embarked on a complete rebuild, with many young players already in the team's main lineup or main rotation.
Under these circumstances, some of Shenhua's veterans have had to give way to youngsters, either sitting on the bench for long periods of time or choosing to move on to other teams. For example, Bai Jiajun, who terminated his contract with the music department early, joined Chinese first division side Jinan Xingzhou in the summer window.
Another midfield general, Peng Xinli, had to join the Chinese Super League promotion horse Qingdao Hainiu on loan after Dai Weijun joined the Shenhua team this summer and was directly removed from the club's Chinese Super League registration quota.
As the main midfielder of Shenhua for the past two seasons, Peng Xinli did not want to be suddenly abandoned by the club. Because of his bad mood, he almost shoved the Swiss striker when he flew at teammate Maraisle in training before leaving the team. Although Peng later apologized to Mallet, it still showed that he was estranged from Shenhua's coaching staff.
After joining Qingdao Sea Bulls, Peng quickly became the team's main player. He performed well in the team. He also scored a goal in the match between the Manatees and Shenzhen, helping the team to win 5-0 at home.
The Qingdao Manatees and Shanghai Shenhua have two more matches to play in the rest of the league season, one is the FA Cup and the other is the Manatees' away game against Shenhua in the Chinese Super League. Peng Xinli will definitely miss the Super League as he has just been loaned to the Qingdao Sea Cowboys this summer and has an avoidance clause in his contract.
However, this does not have to be the case for the FA Cup, as eight of Shenhua's players must represent the national soccer Asian Games in Hangzhou. Shenhua FC recently applied to the Football Association (FA) to postpone the FA Cup semi-final against Qingdao Sea Cowboys, which was approved by the FA.
According to reports, Shenhua and Hainiu will take place at the end of the Chinese Super League. Considering that there is no place for Peng Xinli at Shenhua, I believe he will officially move to Qingdao Hainiu at the end of the season, despite still having more than a year of contract with the club. This would make Peng Xinli eligible to represent Qingdao Hainiu in the Shenhua FA Cup semi-final.
By then, Peng Xinli, who still holds a grudge against Shenhua, will surely give his best performance in the match to take revenge on his old boss. The Sea Cowboys, who have been relegated, will put all their energy into the FA Cup. They may be able to beat Shanghai Shenhua at home to advance to the FA Cup final and compete with their provincial rivals Shandong Taishan for the FA Cup title this season.
As a result, Qingdao Manatees and Shanghai Shenhua still have a lot to play for in the FA Cup semi-final, but there are plenty of interesting points to be made. Peng Xinli's performance against his old hosts for the first time since his transfer, and whether he can score a goal or even help the Sea Bulls eliminate Shanghai Shenhua, will undoubtedly be the biggest highlight of the match.
