As the first stage of the 2021 season of the Central League was in full swing under the May 9 night in Beijing, Zibo Cuju welcomed the hosts of this stage, Meizhou Hakka, who had finished in fifth place in last season's Central League. In the first half, Silva's shot was skillfully deflected by goalkeeper Gu Haojie, while Gu Haojie himself stepped up to clear the danger several times. In the second half, Li Chenguang and Yan Yiming created a threat with headers, and Silva attempted a barb shot. Nonetheless, Zibo Cuju was defeated by Meizhou Hakka by a score of 0-1.
After the battle, Zibo Cuju team's head coach Huang Hongyi lamented in the post-match press conference, "First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to all the players for their tenacious fighting spirit shown in the game, and I also see that they are improving in every game, although we failed to win in this one, but after all, it's just a battle in the league, which is nothing, and I believe that our players in the next game will have a even better performance."
