In the late afternoon of November 7, the semi-final of the FA Cup was in full swing. Shanghai Seaport and Shanghai Shenhua shook hands in the match 1-1, and finally the Seaport team stood out with a total score of 6-2, and the team broke into the final of the AFC Cup for the second time in its history, and will fight with Shandong Taishan for the crown of this season's AFC Cup.
In the first round of the Shanghai Derby, Shanghai Seaport won 5-1, setting the stage for the second round. Although Shanghai Shenhua stepped up their offense in the second round to try to close the gap, it seems that luck was not on their side.
In the 21st minute, Yu Hanchao's header hit the crossbar and Shenhua missed a great chance to break through. Shanghai Seaport, without Oscar, adopted a steady counter-attacking tactic, and Liu Zhurun broke the deadlock in the 55th minute. Wei Zhen was sent off with a red card in the 85th minute, and the outnumbered Shenhua team equalized the score to 1-1 with Zhao Mingjian's goal in the 90th minute, but they were still eliminated with a total score of 2-6.
Shanghai Shenhua head coach Mao Yijun regretted the elimination result, "The big loss in the first round doomed the difficulty of advancing. Thanks to the players who fought until the last minute today, we didn't give up despite the delay in breaking through."
Shanghai Seaport head coach Leko was satisfied with his team's performance in the F.A.C. Cup. Seaport's youngster Liu Zhurun scored consecutive goals to prove himself in the two rounds of the FFA Cup semifinals, "For me, these two goals are very crucial because my career has just started and scoring goals can boost my self-confidence." Oscar posted a message after the match, congratulating his teammates for winning the second round of the derby, "F.A.C. Cup final, let's hit the next top together."
According to the previous schedule, the final of the AFC Cup will be held at the end of this season's Chinese Super League, with the exact time and venue of the match yet to be determined.
