In the second round of Group J of the AFC Champions League, Wuhan Sanzhen will face POSCO on the road. Despite the fact that Wuhan Sanzhen has no superiority in terms of strength, the future of Wuhan Sanzhen playing away from home is worrying. However, the draw against Urawa Red Diamonds in the first match of the AFC Champions League still raised expectations for Wuhan City. Throughout the match, Aziz's brilliant overhead kick gave the team the first lead, but then POSCO overpowered Wuhan Sanzhen with their strengths and eventually won 3:1. POSCO leads the group with two wins in a row, while Wuhan Sanzhen is in the third place in the group.
At the beginning of the match, Pohang Steelers had the upper hand, but Wuhan Sanzhen played a tough game and did not give their opponents too many chances to attack. Only nine minutes later, Wuhan Sanzhen scored from a corner kick, Davidson crossed the ball and Aziz was able to hit the ball in the air! Then Xie Pengfei's long-distance shot hit the goal post. In just two minutes, Wuhan Sanzhen posed a huge threat to POSCO.
In the twelfth minute, POSCO played a great match in front of the field, and a shot from the penalty line went straight through the gate guarded by Liu Dengzheng, and the two sides were tied. After the draw, POSCO attacked more and more fiercely, Wuhan Sanzhen defense pressure doubled, Liu Yiming received a yellow card in advance.
After that, the two sides were locked in a tug-of-war, with POSCO controlling the pace of the game, while Wuhan Sanzhen was mainly playing defense. In the 38th minute, Xie Pengfei was defending against Obertan when he came from behind, the video assistant referee intervened and the referee showed a red card, Wuhan Sanzhen had to play with ten men. In stoppage time, POSCO created two goal scoring chances, which Wuhan Sanzhen realized. At the end of the first half, both sides shook hands for the time being.
Throughout the first half, Wuhan Sanzhen played on the road and had a decent overall performance. Despite the opponent's home field advantage, Wuhan Sanzhen's defense was relatively solid. Unfortunately, Xie Pengfei's red card brought flaws to the team's overall offense and defense. The head coach will have to make timely tactical adjustments during the halftime break to avoid conceding a goal at a numerical disadvantage.
The second half started with the dominance still in the hands of Pohang Steelers as they continued to attack the Wuhan Sanzhen penalty area. In the 53rd minute, Lee Ho-jae's header was narrowly missed by Liu Dinzai. Immediately after that, Yan Dinghao made a mistake in the midfield and POSCO quickly counterattacked, creating a three-on-three situation. Zeca scored with a low shot and Wuhan Sanzhen fell behind. After falling behind, Wuhan Sanzhen tried to fight back, but could only rely on two foreigners and Wei Shihao to start the offense in front of the field.
After seventy minutes of the match, Wuhan Sanzhen's physical strength declined due to their numerical disadvantage, but POSCO's offense didn't weaken, and frequently created threats. In the 76th minute, Wuhan Sanzhen's defense was once again broken by the opponent, and Zeca took a long shot from outside the penalty area, although it was slightly deflected. In the 80th minute, Liu Dianzha made a mistake at the back and the opponent scored. Fortunately, offside was ruled out. Five minutes later, Pohang Steelers scored again, but offside was ruled out. Wuhan Sanzhen completed the turnaround when Zeca broke through again in the final moments of extra time.
Despite Wuhan Sanzhen's final defeat, the team's overall performance deserves recognition. The team's defensive tenacity and fighting spirit won the applause of the audience. Xie Pengfei, as the captain of the national soccer team, the result of the match might have been different if not for the red card. After the match, everyone recognized Wuhan Sanzhen's performance and expressed dissatisfaction with Shandong Taishan who failed to win. If Shandong Taishan could have the hardness of Wuhan Sanzhen, they would have gotten at least one point. Unfortunately, Taishan has no chance to go out after losing to Yokohama Mariners.
