In the 28th round of the Chinese Super League (CSL), the leading Zhejiang Greentown team challenged the equally energetic Meizhou Hakka on the road. This is not only the first match of the round, but also a key battle for Meizhou Hakka under the pressure of relegation. Despite being relegated early, Meizhou Hakka's morale has been boosted by consecutive wins at home.
Zhejiang Greentown, the dominant team in the second half of the league season, has not lost a single match so far, but they have suffered two consecutive defeats in the AFC Champions League. In this game, Zhejiang's manager Qiao Di lined up a classic 4231 formation, with Mu Xiekui as the single arrow, and Evra, Frank and Cheng Jin forming a trio of midfielders. On the defensive side, Qian Jie and Li Tixiang partnered at the back, while Yue Xin, Lucas Porcinolo, Sun Zheng Ao and Dong Yu formed a four-back defense. Meizhou Hakka coach Milan Ristic also opted for a 4231 formation, with players such as Cheng Yuelei, Dujalić and Kosovic all making an appearance. Zhejiang Greentown controlled the tempo at the beginning of the game, but Meizhou Hakka's defense was solid and goalkeeper Cheng Yuelei was heroic. In the 8th minute, Mu Xiekui's shot was magically parried by Cheng Yuelei; in the 39th minute, Mu Xiekui shot again, but was again deflected by Cheng Yuelei. Zhejiang team frequently missed good opportunities, finally in the 45th +2 minutes, Meizhou Hakka through a rapid counterattack, Konrad a long-distance shot broke the goal, Meizhou Hakka 1-0 lead. In the second half, Zhejiang Greentown strengthened their offense, but the attacking line led by Mu Xiekui still failed to seize the opportunity. Until the last moment of the game, Mu Xiekui in the 90th +8 minutes to complete the equalizer, Evra small angle shot hit the goalpost, Mu Xiekui followed up to make up for the goal. In the end, Zhejiang Greentown drew 1-1 with Meizhou Hakka. Throughout the game, Zhejiang Greentown had 68% ball control and 20 shots on goal, 14 more than Meizhou Hakka. The number of shots on goal was 9-6, and the match ended with a score of 1-1. Meizhou Hakka goalkeeper Cheng Yuelei won the highest score of 8.5 points with many wonderful saves, and Zhejiang Li Tixiang also performed well with 8.1 points. Despite the one point, Zhejiang Greentown still temporarily surpassed Shanghai Shenhua and returned to the top three of the Chinese Super League standings. Currently, Zhejiang Greentown is in third place with 49 points, followed by Shandong Taishan with 51 points and Shanghai Shenhua in fourth place with 48 points. According to statistics, Zhejiang Greentown set a record of 13 consecutive victories in the second half of the season, from the 16th round to the 28th round, they won 9 and drew 4, soaring all the way to the top three. Meizhou Hakka also performed well, going undefeated at home for six consecutive matches with four wins and two draws, and moving up to 10th place in the table.
