Six minutes later, Cui Qinglu sent in a clever cross from the right and Xu Li's header flew over the line.
At the 23:00 mark, Wu Hau Sheng fired a shot from outside the box to the far corner of the net, and Bao Yaxiong made a heroic save to keep the goal intact.
At the thirty minute mark, Teixeira managed to snatch a direct ball, but Malelai's one-touch chance was lost due to a mistake, and Kim Gengmin quickly broke the ball to clear the danger.
In the forty-third minute, Malelai committed an impulsive foul and Kuwaiti referee Ahmed Ali showed a decisive yellow card after a VAR replay.
Forty-five plus four seconds later, Heo Li scored for Gwangju, but Jung Ho Yoon's foul on Gao Tianyi happened first, and Kuwaiti video assistant referee Abdullah Kandari alerted the referee to the eventual cancellation of the goal.
On forty-eight minutes, Andre Luis blasted a heavy shot from outside the box, but unfortunately the ball skimmed over the line.
In the sixty-fifth minute, Gao Tianyi's precise set piece was driven to the penalty area, Wu Xi's header was on goal, and Kim Gengmin nearly gave it away.
Shanghai Shenhua missed a good chance to equalize in the 88th minute, Xie Pengfei adjusted too much and Manafa's shot was blocked.
The Technical Statistics and Player Ratings columns detail the lineups of Shanghai Shenhua and Gwangju FC.
Shanghai Shenhua's starting lineup was 4-3-1-2, with Bao Yaxiong in goal, a solid backline of Chen Jinyi, Zhu Chenjie, Eddy, and Yang Zexiang, a supporting midfield of Wang Haijian, Wu Xi, and Gao Tianyi, a tandem of Teixeira up front, and an impactful forward line of Andre Luiz and Maraille.
Gwangju FC started with a 4-4-2, with Kim Geng-min in goal, Kim Jin-ho, Byun Joon-soo, Kim Kyeon-jae, and Lee Ryeo-gi in the backline, Choi Kyung-rok, Jung Ho-yeon, Park Tae, and Oh Ho-seong in the midfield, and Lee Hee-gyun and Hee-ryul in the frontline.
