Derby battle goes cold as Shenhua and Harbor end in 1-1 draw
The Shanghai derby, dubbed "the coldest ever", came to an end with some unexpected excitement. Goals from Zhu Jianrong and Ndiaye saw Shenhua and Seaport draw 1-1 in Dalian. The most memorable part of the match was all that happened in the closing stages of the game. Shenhua and Seaport each had a penalty kick, but the results were very different, and these two penalties became the key to the game.
Early in the season, Seaport has always been in an up and down state. In this match, Seaport sent out a double foreigner to partner their attacking line, while Shenhua counterattacked with Bassogo and Zhu Jianrong. Wu Jingui was intent on using defensive counter-attacks against Leko, who had yet to find his feet. Most of the match proved that director Wu once again grasped the key to the game - efficiency. Despite Harbour's overall lead in possession, corners and passes, it was Shenhua who broke the deadlock first. Cao Yunding's precise back-pass, Basogo's quick reaction after his one-two was parried, and Zhu Jianrong's calmly adjusted shot put pressure on international goalkeeper Yan Junling.
In fact, had it not been for Yan's excellent play and Shenhua's bad luck, the suspense of the match might have been over long ago. Basogo's one-two was parried, Liu Ruowan vanadium's header was denied by the crossbar, and Li Shenyuan's oolong was nullified due to Wang Yi's offside....... As long as Wu Jingui's team was able to capitalize on one of their chances, the harbour was almost powerless to come back to life. At the end of the game, a good chance to decide the win came to Shenhua again: Liu Ruowan van broke into the penalty area and was tripped by Lu Wenjun after a succession of crosses, and the referee awarded a penalty kick after being prompted by VAR. However, Zhu Chenjie's shot was magically parried by Yan Junling, and the Shenhua player's follow-up shot was also deflected, and it seemed that from that moment on, the balance of the game began to tilt in favor of the Harbour Team.
Seaport, who lacked chances despite having a statistical advantage throughout the match, then created a handball by Li Yunqiu through a cross from the side, which the referee confirmed once again through VAR, pointing to the twelve-yard spot. Ndiaye, who wears the No. 10 jersey of Harbor, pushed the ball into the top corner, and Shenhua goalkeeper Ma Zhen tried his best but still could not block the ball. Wu Jingui's three points almost came to a draw, and Leko, who had been anxious on the sidelines for the whole game, could finally breathe a sigh of relief at that moment.
