In the third round of the "Beijing-Shanghai Battle" of the Chinese Super League on March 21, both teams were plagued by injuries and had to send out their remaining teams to fight. Shanghai Shenhua scored with Chen Jinyi's free kick and drew 1-1 away from the opponent, struggling to take away a point from the Workers' Stadium.
In this game, Shenhua's foreign aid Mineiro, who had just returned from injury, was injured again, which made the team worse.
Chen Jinyi became the hero of the team's victory
Shenhua captain Wu Xi and forward Guy were both unable to enter the squad due to injuries; Teixeira was injured before the game and was on the substitute list with Li Ke and failed to appear. Foreign aid Mineiro, who had been resting for a long time due to injury, returned to the starting lineup and formed a double forward with Liu Chengyu, who had just been selected for the new national football team. Beijing Guoan is also suffering from injuries, with main players such as Dhawan, Serginho, Wang Gang and Li Lei absent from the game.
Due to the use of many players in the midfield and frontcourt who had less opportunities to play before, Shenhua's cooperation was a little rusty in the early stages of the game, and the offensive and defensive rhythm could not be fully opened. In the 22nd minute, Zhang Yuning scored with a header to help Guoan take the lead.
Zhang Yuning (right) helps Guoan take the lead
The lagging Shenhua players continued to launch counterattacks with their tenacious hard work, constantly looking for opportunities to equalize the score. In the 68th minute, Chen Jinyi scored with a free kick, helping Shenhua take away a point from the away game. The winner said after the game that he was confident in taking the free kick. "The team's usual set-piece training has always been between Gao Tianyi and me, and I also played the same feeling as usual training." Chen Jinyi said frankly that the team's goal for this game was originally 3 points, "but it also feels good to help the team score 1 point."
In the case of a serious imbalance in the lineup, Shenhua once again took away a point in the away game after drawing with Zhejiang team in the last round. Head coach Slutsky was quite satisfied with the team's performance: "Today's score reflects the strength of both sides well. Although our lineup is very uneven, the team fighting spirit displayed by the players on the field is very outstanding, and it also shows the competitiveness of each of them in the team."
The team's injury problem is becoming more serious
In this game, Mineiro, who had just returned from injury, not only performed poorly, but also suffered an injury again, straining his thigh muscle. He came off the field in pain in the 75th minute. This was Shenhua's third consecutive league game in which a player left the field due to injury.
After this game, Shenhua, which started with a loss of 10 points, currently has 1 win and 2 draws, and is currently at the bottom of the standings with a loss of 5 points. There is still a big gap between the goal of clearing the points. But compared to the pressure of points, the bigger challenge facing the team is an incomplete lineup. Fortunately, the Chinese Super League will enter a half-month rest period after this round of league games. Shenhua, which is full of injuries, will have a chance to breathe and adjust.
