The 2023 FA Premier Cup kicked off with a showdown between former Chinese Super League champions Wuhan Sanzhen and Shandong Taishan, the opening match of the new Chinese soccer season, in front of a packed house of 26,998 fans. The final whistle blew and Wuhan Sanzhen sealed a 2-0 victory with Aziz and Xie Pengfei, winning their first title of the new season as well as their first Super Cup honor.
In last season's campaign, Wuhan Three Town made great progress and finally won the championship, becoming the second team to win the Chinese Super League as a promoted team after Guangzhou. In the new season, they brought in strong reinforcements such as Wei Shihao and Yan Dinghao from Guangzhou, and the strength of the team has been significantly improved.
Shandong Taishan, who missed out on defending their title despite finishing as runners-up in the Chinese Super League, unexpectedly won the FA Cup, achieving the feat of winning it for the third time in a row. This is also the eighth time in the team's history to win the cup, continuing to write a new legend. In the transfer window of the new season, Shandong Taishan welcomed seven new recruits, including naturalized player Fernando as well as Hu Jinghang, Huang Zhengyu and Liu Shibo.
It is worth mentioning that this is Shandong Taishan's appearance in the Super Cup again since 8 years ago. Facing Wuhan Sanzhen, who participated in the Super Cup for the first time, Shandong Taishan suffered a crushing defeat. The match was officiated by international referee Ma Ning, with Fu Ming as the fourth official and Wang Di as the VAR referee.
At the beginning of the game, in the 10th minute, Wei Shihao skillfully took the ball on the side road and broke through to the bottom line of the penalty area, skillfully assisted Aziz to score a header, Wuhan Sanzhen 1-0 lead. It is worth mentioning that today is Wei Shihao's 28th birthday, he offered a wonderful assist in front of the new owner. According to statistics, Wei Shihao made 9 appearances in Shandong Taishan, contributing 4 goals and 2 assists.
Shandong Taishan strengthened their offense, while Wuhan Sanzhen expanded the score through counterattacks. In the 56th minute, Xie Pengfei's breakthrough was blocked, but Stanciu quickly inserted into the penalty area, helping Xie Pengfei to break through the goal, making the score 2-0, Shandong Taishan fell into passive.
In the 87th minute of the match, Sun Jungho flew at Davidson's ankle and referee Manning didn't hesitate to show a red card to send him off.
After the red card incident, both sides failed to change the score. Wuhan Sanzhen won the Super Cup 2-0 with goals in the first and second half, while Shandong Taishan had no choice but to accept the loss.
With the win, Wuhan Three Town not only won their first title of the new season, but also set four new records in the team's history, including their first Super Cup title, their first Double Crown honor, and their first goal in the Super Cup.
