Beijing Guoan met Jingchuan Wenhui of the Chinese Champions League in the 1/16th final of the 2022 Chinese FA Cup in the late afternoon of November 17th, with the two sides drawing 2-2 at the end of regulation play. In the penalty kicks, Guoan lost 5-7 on aggregate and bid farewell to the last 32 of the FA Cup.
Since Stanley took over as coach of Guoan, the team has had a good record in 10 rounds of the Chinese Super League, collecting 6 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss, and steadily climbing up the table to sixth place. During the break of this round of the Chinese Super League, Guoan ushered in the challenge of the second round of the FA Cup. Facing Jingchuan Wenhui, whose strength and fame are far inferior to his own, Stanley boldly activated young players who seldom have the chance to play in the league.
Guoan played a new 442 formation with Guo Quanbo in goal, a defense lined up by Liang Shaowen, Yang Bai, Yang Yu, Ruan Qilong, Zhang Chengdong, and Shi Yucheng, and midfielders Cao Yongjing and Kim Tae-Yan on the left and right, with Liu Guobo partnering with U23 winger Tian Yuda, who is a new addition to the team this season, in the forward line.
As this was the first time for the old and new lineups to play together, it was clear that there was a lack of tacit understanding between the players. At the beginning of the game, Guoan players appeared to be a little slow to warm up, passing errors frequently, failed to quickly control the pace of the game. On the contrary, the opponent, but the use of counterattacks to create a threat to the Guoan goal. Only four minutes after the start, Wenhui team Du Zexin with a free kick directly into the goal, Guoan team's "human wall" failed to stop the ball momentum, the ball should be sound into the net. Guoan was caught in the predicament of being one goal behind in the beginning of the game. However, this did not break Guoan's fighting spirit. With the technical advantage, the team gradually reversed the situation, and in the 35th minute, Liu Guobo equalized the score after receiving a pass from Ruan Qilong.
In the second half, Guoan continued to make efforts in the attacking end, with many long passes to penetrate the opponent's defense. In the 54th minute, Cao Yongjing took the lead with a penalty kick to make the score 2-1, and in the 70th minute, Liu Jianxin, who came on as a substitute for Wenhui, calmly shot the ball inside the penalty area to equalize the score again. After that, both sides suffered a decline in fitness and no more goals were scored. According to the FA Cup rules, the two sides drew in regular time and went straight to a penalty shootout.
In the penalty shootout, Guoan's Kim Tae-Yeon conceded a penalty kick, and in the end, Guoan failed to reverse the trend and defeated their opponents.
