In the first event of the 2023 season, the triennial Super Cup is back in the spotlight, pitting last season's Chinese Super League (CSL) champions Wuhan Sanzhen against FA Cup winners Shandong Taishan. The two teams won each of their four matches last season, with one win each in the league, and in the FA Cup, Wuhan Sanzhen played with a substitute lineup, but allowed Taishan to win twice and advance to the next round. It is worth mentioning that this matchup is also the occasion for newcomer Wei Shihao to reunite with his old master Taishan, making it a major attraction.
Both sides starting lineups are not bad, Wuhan three towns took the 332 attack formation, Liu Dengzuo guarding the goal, Liu Yiming and Wallace partnering center back, Deng Hanwen in the two wings, Stanciu and He Chao guarding the midfield, Davis, Yakubu and Wei Shihao form a trident. Taishan also in 343 formation, Han Rongze guarded the goal, Zheng Zheng, Jadason, Shi Ke constitute the defense, Moises, Sun Junhao, Ji Xiang and Song Long in the midfield scheduling, Guo Tianyu, Delgado and Chen Pu occupy the side.
The game started at the first touch of the button and both teams started their offense quickly. Three towns three lines forward pressure, high press, Taishan back line in trouble, few opportunities for attack. Wei Shihao and Xie Pengfei were eye-catching in the two wings. In the 25th minute, Wei Shihao left breakthrough, bottom line pass, Yakubu header, Han Rongze was unable to return to heaven.
After falling behind, Taishan quickly launched a counterattack, but the positional battle was not a big threat. Sun Junho's free kick also failed to break the deadlock. Before the end of the half, Hao Wei replaced Delgado with Sun Guowen. Sanzhen's possession was close to 60%, and their quick counter-attacks were still sharp, and they went into the break with a one-goal advantage.
In the second half, Hao Wei adjusted the lineup again, Wang Tong replaced Zheng Zheng, and Taishan counterattacked with full force. Sanzhen, on the other hand, played steadily and steadily, controlling the ball to consume time. With the decline of physical fitness, the battle between the two sides declined. Taishan was limited by the speed of Yakubu, Wei Shihao and Xie Pengfei, and did not dare to press forward. In the 55th minute, Taishan made another substitution.
In the 81st minute, Liu Dengzheng made a low-level error and missed the kickoff, the ball came back to Liu Binbin's feet, who pushed the ball to score. However, VAR ruled that Sun Guowen was offside and the goal was invalid. In the 87th minute, Sun Junho stepped on Davis' ankle while grabbing the ball and was sent off with a red card. In the end, Sanjin won the first game of the 2023 season by two goals and claimed the Super Cup trophy for the first time in team history.
