In the opening game of the 2023 season, Wuhan Three Town defeated Shandong Taishan 2-0 to lift the F.A.C. Super Cup trophy in historic fashion, becoming the tenth team to reach the top of this prestigious competition.
Formerly known as the China Football Super Cup, which was established in 1995, the Super Cup was suspended in 2004, but resumed in 2012 and was renamed the FA Super Cup. The Super Cup was suspended for three consecutive years due to an epidemic. The last edition of the tournament was staged on February 23, 2019, with Shanghai Harbour winning the title with a 2-0 victory over Beijing Guoan.
Guangzhou led the way with four wins, Shanghai Shenhua and Dalian won three times each, while Beijing Guoan won twice.
As the top teams for the 2022 season, Wuhan Sanzhen and Shandong Taishan shook hands 1-1 in the first round of the Chinese Super League, but Wuhan Sanzhen was eliminated by Shandong Taishan in the last eight of the AFC Cup by a score of 1-6. The first match of the new season was highly anticipated and attracted 26,998 fans to the stadium.
With 14 new recruits joining each of the two teams, the performance of the new recruits became the key to deciding the winner in this fierce battle. Only 10 minutes into the game, Wei Shihao forced a breakthrough through three people on the left, and Aziz took the lead for Shandong Taishan with an easy header.
Wei Shihao, who joined in the winter window, has once again become a nightmare for Shandong Taishan. He scored six goals and assisted twice in nine matches against his old club. Aziz, on the other hand, showed his prowess in just 10 minutes in his debut for Wuhan Sanzhen, after having contributed 10 goals in half a season in the Portuguese Super League.
In the 56th minute, Stanchou's precise straight shot led to Xie Pengfei's low shot from the left foot of the box to extend the lead for Wuhan Sanzhen, while Aziz was also involved in the goal.
In the end, Wuhan Sanzhen won the Super Cup for the first time with a 2-0 victory over Shandong Taishan, becoming the tenth team in history to win the honor. It is worth mentioning that the four major clubs, Dalian Shide, Liaoning, Jiangsu and Beijing Orange and Fung, have been disbanded among the nine winning teams.
Goals from the two newcomers helped Shandong Taishan win the AFC Cup, and Wuhan Sanzhen once again proved their strength and determination to compete for the Super League title, lifting the Super Cup trophy for the first time.
