Seaport hosts challenger Sanzhen in the round of 16 of the Chinese Super League. Although San Zhen was the champion, their performance this season is not outstanding, only won 5 games after 15 rounds, 8 draws and 2 losses, with 23 points, 10 points away from the leader Harbour. The road to the championship seems to be far away, and it is extremely difficult for Sanzhen to get three points as the visiting team. However, Seaport's tactical arrangement was controversial as the last round match with Dalian People ended in a 1-1 handshake. Seaport, with an unfavorable record, will face San Zhen again, and it will be a battle for redemption. In the first round, San Zhen lost 0-2 to Seaport at home.
In this match, Xavier followed the 4312 formation. Yan Junling defended the city, Zhang Linlian and Jiang Guangtai partnered the center backs, Lu Wenjun and Wang Sunqiu played as the left and right wingbacks, and Oscar, Cai Huikang, Buytijiang and Xu Xin formed the midfield. Wu Lei and Karon partnered the wide forward line. Sanzhen side is a 4231 formation, goalkeeper Liu Dianzuo, Liu Yiming, Ren Hang, Wang Yi, Gao Junyi composed of the back line, Stanciu auxiliary He Chao, Yan Dinghao, Xie Pengfei, Davidson midfield, Aziz single arrow forward.
At the beginning of the match, both teams exchanged attacks and defenses, with Seaport having a slightly higher possession rate of 55%. In the first 20 minutes, both teams failed to create any scoring chances, but after 25 minutes, Harbour changed their attacking strategy and sought for overhead kicks. In the 31st minute, a cross from Harbour was met by Karon, who collided with Wang Yi and both fell to the ground; VAR ruled that Wang Yi had committed a foul, and Oscar took a penalty kick, but the shot was not strong enough.
Seaport made a comeback in the 44th minute when Renhang blocked Caron, who ended up receiving his second yellow card of the match and had no choice but to leave the field. This penalty triggered dissatisfaction from the Sanzhen bench, and Wei Shihao went up to confront him, resulting in a red card and leaving the field. Two minutes later, San Zhen turned two yellow cards into one red card. At the end of the half, San Zhen was trailing by one goal and the situation was worrisome.
The match resumed with a goal battle between the two sides. In the 62nd minute, Lee Sheng Long scored for Harbor. In the 65th minute, Gao Junyi added another goal. In the 74th minute, Jiang Guangtai was sent off for a red card. In the 78th minute, Wu Lei scored his 8th goal of the season to seal the win for Seaport. In extra time, Aziz scored a goal for San Zhen to slightly save face. In the end, Seaport beat San Zhen 3-1 to achieve the double and move up to 37 points, continuing to lead the table.
