The third round of the Chinese Super League (CSL) officially started with three highlight matches held simultaneously on the first matchday. Shandong Taishan vs Zhejiang, Meizhou Hakka vs Wuhan Sanzhen, and Qingdao Manatees vs Guoan. Although Qingdao Manatees are a newly promoted polo team, there were still a lot of interesting things about this game. Qingdao Youth Stadium, home of the Sea Bulls, is one of the professional stadiums in the Chinese Super League this season, and the atmosphere of soccer in Qingdao is quite good. In addition, both Qingdao and Guoan have failed to get off to a good start in the beginning two rounds of matches, so whoever is in this match can't afford to lose again.
The Qingdao Manatees home team started four foreigners, with Kangua and Tabek suddenly in front. Saric sits in midfield, Andrejevic leads the back four and Taishan veteran Liu Junshuai starts. Guoan were stronger on paper. The three foreigners, Adebenelo, De Souza and Ademi, sat in midfield, with Ngadeu leading the back line and Han Jiaqi still in goal. National soccer team center forward Zhang Yuning has returned from injury and sits on the bench. Guoan's side's bench is much more luxurious than Qingdao's.
Just 10 minutes into the match, the hosts Qingdao Hainiu started a fantastic game. The Qingdao striker shot Ngadeu with one foot in the box. The referee awarded a penalty after watching the VAR and Saric hit it to give Qingdao Hainiu a 1-0 lead over Guoan. From there, Guoan, who specializes in ball control, still kept the ball at their feet and surrounded Qingdao. However, in the 27th minute, Qingdao Hainiu scored again, as Qingdao Hainiu started a tactical corner kick. Andrejevic won a tight game in the box. The hole went through Han Jiaqi's ten fingers and Qingdao took a 2-0 lead over Guoan.
In the second half, Guoan replaced Zhang Yuning and Kang Xiangyou in succession, but Qingdao Hainiu launched a blitzkrieg when Guoan was not on a firm footing. Kang Gua broke through the penalty area with his individual ability to fend off Li Lei and launch a breakaway goal. Manatee extended their lead to three goals. Just four minutes later, Guoan started to counterattack. A Guoan corner kick was a chance for De Souza to push out a breakaway goal from the penalty spot. Qingdao's goalkeeper didn't react because his vision was obscured and Guoan equalized 1-3.
In the 76th minute, naturalized player Li Ke finally came out for his first appearance in the Chinese Super League in almost two years. He replaced Zhang Xizhe. Li Ke's performance was not only related to Guoan's performance, but also had a great impact on the national soccer team. After Qingdao's goal in the second half, it became a half-time battle between Guoan's offense and defense. Possession was once close to 80%, bombarded more than 20 shots, but could no longer score. In the end, Guoan lost 1-3 to Qingdao Hainiu, the league promotion horse, on the road. Although Guoan made massive signings this season, it was hard to win after 3 rounds of 2 draws and 1 loss this season. Obviously, this result cannot be compared with the investment.
