Highlights of the first match of the new Chinese Super League season
In the first round of the 2024 Super League season on the 3rd, the Zhejiang team returned to the Huanglong Sports Center after a 1583-day absence to meet the challenges of the new season, the opponent is the "new promoted horse" Shenzhen New Pengcheng. Only 20 minutes after the start, the Zhejiang team in the captain Frank's goal, with 10 people to fight, with a score of 10:0 to realize the new season's "open door".
This photo captures the excitement of the game and photographer Guo Tianqi documented this historic moment.
Shenzhen Xinpengcheng was renamed after receiving approval from the Chinese Football Association (CFA) in February this year to represent Shenzhen in the Chinese Super League (CSL). The team has injected new players such as former Meizhou Hakka foreign aid player Dujalić, giving the team a new look.
Before the match, Zhejiang head coach Jordy said, "This year, all the teams in the Chinese Super League have strengthened, we watched yesterday's game, the teams are not bad, Shenzhen is no exception."
On the day of the match, Zhejiang's four foreign aiders joined forces, with captain Frank leading the midfield, and last season's Chinese Super League top scorer Leonardo and newcomer Owusu in the starting lineup. Shenzhen Xinpengcheng also sent four foreign aiders, with captain Zhu Baojie leading the team into battle.
Early in the game, Zhejiang showed strong offensive firepower. In the 8th minute, Zhejiang goalkeeper Zhao Bo pounced on a shot by Shenzhen Xinpengcheng; in the 20th minute, the referee decided that Sun Guowen had spoiled the scoring opportunity after video replay and showed a red card to send him off. However, in the 26th minute of the game, Frank hit a shot and Zhejiang, playing with 10 men, took the lead. At the end of the first half, Zhejiang was leading 11:0.
In the 57th minute, Shenzhen New Pengcheng's header nearly broke the goal, but Zhao Bo saved the danger. In the 62nd minute, Lucas took a free kick and the ball went out of the goal. In the 71st minute, Shenzhen Xinpengcheng's shot hit the goal post. In the end, Zhejiang team resisted the attack and won the game with a score of 1:0.
After the match, Shenzhen Xinpengcheng head coach Jesús Tato said, "Football is like this sometimes, although we played one more player, the opponent is also a strong team." Zhejiang head coach Jordy, on the other hand, said, "We did a good job of controlling the ball, but we lacked the means to advance into the opponent's penalty area. The three points in the first home game were very important for us, congratulations to our team."
It is worth mentioning that this game is the first official game of Zhejiang team returning to the old home of Huanglong Sports Center, attracting a lot of attention from fans. 25337 fans came to the game, cheering for the team. Chen Lin, a fan, said: "I've seen many of Zhejiang's matches at the Huanglong Sports Center, and the experience was very good. Now the team can come back here to continue the fight, and I'm also very excited."
In the next round, Zhejiang will host Shanghai Seaport, while Shenzhen Xinpengcheng will face Tianjin Jinmen Tiger.
