On October 4, the night was dark, the match between Wuhan Sanzhen and POSCO in Group J of the AFC Champions League started. Wuhan Sanzhen took the lead with Aziz's goal, however, Pohang Steelers, like a tiger coming down from the mountain, reversed the game with a score of 3-1, and Wuhan Sanzhen suffered their first defeat in the AFC Champions League. The match not only witnessed Wuhan's defeat, but also saw the moment when popular soccer star Xie Pengfei was sent off with a red card for an aggressive shoveling. The series of blows made Wuhan Sanzhen's road to promotion extremely bumpy.
Looking back at the match, Wuhan Sanjin's first goal was the same as the previous round against Urawa Red Diamonds, with Aziz once again stepping up to the plate. But this time, POSCO didn't let Wuhan Sankzhen taste the taste of leading twice only to be equalized twice. In the second half, Zekame scored twice to make the score 3-1, completely demoralizing Wuhan Sanzhen.
The key twist in the game came in the 40th minute. Ogbaidan went down in agony after a pass from Ogbaidan, and slow motion showed that Xie Pengfei inadvertently kicked Ogbaidan's ankle with his toes as he shoveled the ball. Initially, a yellow card was on the cards, but VAR intervened to make the red card a certainty. For the next 50 minutes, Wuhan were left with ten men and the seeds of defeat were sown.
This shoveling by Xie Pengfei was undoubtedly stupid. Obertan was not in a dangerous position, as Wuhan Sanzhen's defenders had watched him closely. Xie Pengfei only needed to interfere moderately to ensure that his opponent could not play with ease. However, his impulsive move was not only unsuccessful, but also cost his team dearly.
With this loss, Wuhan City are stuck at 1 point in the AFC Champions League group stage, with a significant gap between them and POSCO's 6 points and Urawa's 4 points. Although Hanoi FC is currently the lowest ranked team in the competition, there is still a huge question mark over whether Wuhan Sanzhen can overtake Urawa and POSCO even if they face Hanoi in two consecutive matches. Having failed to win despite being ahead of Urawa Red Diamonds twice, Wuhan Sanzhen have missed the chance to show their strength.
