In the 28th round of the Chinese Super League (CSL), the league-leading Zhejiang team challenged the resilient Meizhou Hakka on the road, and this duel became the first match of the round. Meizhou Hakka, as a team from the county, has been performing fiercely at home, and their recent record has soared. Despite being relegated early, they are still going all out to aggressively grab points. Zhejiang, on the other hand, has been unbeatable in the second half of the Chinese Super League, remaining undefeated. However, in the AFC Champions League, they suffered two consecutive group stage losses.
The match will be full of tension and suspense as the two teams in hot form meet each other. Zhejiang's Jordy played a classic 4231 formation, with Mu Xiekui as the arrow, and Evra, Frank and Cheng Jin forming the attacking triangle. Qian Jie and Li Tixiang partner in the midfield, Yue Xin, Lucas Porcinolo, Sun Zheng Ao and Dong Yu build up the defense, and Zhao Bo defends the goal. Meizhou Hakka coach Milan Ristic also opted for a 4231 formation, with players such as Cheng Yuelei, Dujalić, Kosovic, Rodrigo Enrique, Konrad and Ye Chugui all making appearances.
Soon after the game started, Zhejiang got the rhythm, but Meizhou Hakka's defense was exceptionally sturdy, and goalkeeper Cheng Yuelei repeatedly made great saves. In the 8th minute, Mu Xiekui's shot was skillfully blocked by Cheng Yuelei; in the 39th minute, Mu Xiekui shot again, but was still deflected by Cheng Yuelei. Due to the inefficiency of Zhejiang's offense, Mu Xiekui's form was affected, and Meizhou Hakka seized the opportunity to break through a counterattack in the 45th+2nd minute. Conrad broke the goal with one hand in a high-speed counterattack, Zhejiang 0-1 Meizhou Hakka.
In the second half, Zhejiang's offense did not weaken, but Mu Xiekui's offensive line still failed to seize the opportunity. Until the last moment of the game, Mu Xiekui in the 90th +8 minutes to complete the equalizer goal. Evra's shot from a small angle hit the back post, and Mu Xiekui then added a goal. Zhejiang 1-1 Meizhou Hakka, hard to keep a point.
Throughout the game, Zhejiang's ball control rate was 68%, the number of shots on goal was 20-14 ahead of Meizhou Hakka, and the shot rate was 9-6. In the end, the two sides drew 1-1. Meizhou Hakka goalkeeper Cheng Yuelei got the highest score of the game due to many wonderful saves, scoring 8.5 points, while Zhejiang Li Tixiang also performed well, scoring 8.1 points.
Despite just one point, Zhejiang temporarily overtook Shanghai Shenhua to return to the top three in the Chinese Super League standings. The team ranked third with 49 minutes in the first round, Shandong Taishan ranked second with 51 points and Shenhua ranked fourth with 48 points. According to statistics, Zhejiang set a record of 13 consecutive wins in the second half of the Chinese Super League, from the 16th round to the 28th round, they won 9 and drew 4, soaring all the way to the top three. Meizhou Hakka have been equally strong, going undefeated at home for six consecutive matches, with four wins and two draws, and steadily rising up the table, now entering the top 10 of the Super League with 34 points, and are temporarily in 10th place.
