Chengdu Rongcheng and Nantong Zhiyun faced off in the 1/8th final of the CFA Cup. The match, which took place at 7:35 p.m. on July 16 at Chengdu Rongcheng's home stadium, Phoenix Hill Stadium, attracted many fans.
At the beginning of the match, both sides showed a strong desire to win. However, in the 9th minute of the first half, Nantong Zhiyun's Liao Biao fell down while fighting for the ball with Chengdu Rongcheng's Palacios, and after a short treatment, he still couldn't hold on to the game, and could only be replaced by Song Hao Yu. This change had a certain impact on the morale of Nantong Zhiyun.
As the game progressed, Chengdu Rongcheng gradually took the initiative. In the 45th minute, Chengdu Rongcheng finally broke the deadlock. After a successful break in the midfield, Baitijiang assisted Yan Dinghao with a precise inverted triangle pass. After receiving the pass, Yan Dinghao shot the ball as if it was an arrow flying straight into the corner of the goal, giving Chengdu Rongcheng a 1-0 lead over Nantong Jiyun. The goal not only showed Yan Dinghao's excellent long-distance shooting ability, but also demonstrated the tacit understanding of Chengdu Rongcheng's teamwork.
In the second leg, Nantong Zhiyun tried to strengthen their offense to get back the score, but their efforts could not be converted into effective shots on goal. In the 64th minute, Nantong Zhiyun's Anthony was also substituted due to injury, further aggravating the team's defense. Chengdu Rongcheng took advantage of the situation to strengthen the attack, Wei Shihao's 69th-minute cut shot was held by Nantong Zhiyun goalkeeper Li Huayang, but the opponent already felt great pressure.
In the 72nd minute, Chengdu Rongcheng replaced Zhou Dingyang, Romulo and Felipe with other key players with the intention of further expanding the result. The substitutions paid off quickly. In the 80th minute, Romulo sent a precise long pass over the top from the midfield, Felipe was successfully offside and faced the attacking goalkeeper Li Huayang, he calmly chose to pick a shot, the ball accurately crossed the goal line, Chengdu Rongcheng sealed the victory 2-0.
After that, despite Nantong Zhiyun's efforts to fight back, Chengdu Rongcheng's defense was rock solid and didn't give the opponent any more chances. In the end, with the referee's whistle, Chengdu Rongcheng defeated Nantong Zhiyun 2-0 and successfully advanced to the next round of the AFC Cup.
