They were a guest at the Workers' Stadium, the home ground of the Devils, and many of their main players were injured. Even in the face of such a big challenge, Shenhua always had players who stepped forward to help. This time, it was Chen Jinyi, the guard with a sword. Relying on his direct free kick in the second half, Shenhua drew 1-1 with Beijing Guoan and escaped from the Workers' Stadium.
At the beginning of the new season, Shenhua suffered from injuries. Mineiro, Li Ke, Wu Xi, Guy and others fell down one after another. Together with Jiang Shenglong who was still recuperating, Shenhua's main lineup was reduced by nearly half. After going to Beijing Guoan, Shenhua received bad news again. Teixeira also did not enter the starting lineup because of his unrecovered strain.
Slutsky had no choice but to put Latang in the attacking midfielder position, leaving the striker to Mineiro, who had recovered from injury, and Liu Chengyu, who had just been selected for the new training list of the national football team. In the midfield, young player Wu Qipeng continues to start, and his partners are Wang Haijian and Gao Tianyi. In the 22nd minute of the game, Guoan's new aid Nkololo broke through the left rib and passed in. Zhang Yuning nodded and scored, giving the home team the lead.
Last season, Guoan lost to Shenhua at home, and its long-term unbeaten record against Shenhua in the Workers' Stadium came to an end. This Beijing-Shanghai battle was Guoan's first home game in the new season, so the Green Forest Army has a strong desire to win over its old enemy. More than 64,000 fans flocked to this game, breaking the attendance record. In the whole game, Guoan completed 12 shots and 9 corner kicks, both of which were twice as many as Shenhua. Shenhua goalkeeper Xue Qinghao made many wonderful saves. Under the pressure exerted by the opponent, Shenhua also injured the general Mineiro. The Brazilian striker strained his leg after a dribble run and came off the field clutching his thigh in pain.
"Although our lineup today was uneven, the unity and fighting spirit shown by the players on the court was outstanding." Slutsky refused to give in on the sidelines, and even received a yellow card for questioning a referee's penalty. However, the Shenhua coach always believed that the game was evenly matched, especially in the second half, when Shenhua broke through the Guoan gate.
In the 66th minute, Chen Jinyi seized the opportunity of a free kick and scored directly with his left foot from the arc of the penalty area. This world-beating kick also ignited the enthusiasm of Shenhua fans who traveled to the Workers' Stadium. In the stands, they cheered for Shenhua and applauded Chen Jinyi. The dancing blue became a bright color of the Workers' Stadium.
Chen Jinyi revealed after the game that he was full of confidence when he took the free kick and felt that this kick must be good. "The team's set-piece training has always been conducted by Gao Tianyi and me. This ball happened to be just what we discussed, and I am confident from this angle. I played the same feeling as usual training." Shenhua full-back said, "In this game, our goal is to get 3 points. I am very happy that I can score today. It is also a good feeling to help the team get 1 point."
During this period, Shenhua was plagued by injuries, and so was Guoan. In the absence of many main players, both teams used the tactics of long passes and looking for two penalty kicks. Slutsky commented: "This was a fierce duel. Both sides showed courage. The score reflects the strength of both sides." As for Chen Jinyi's free kick goal today, it is worth thousands of dollars. It not only allowed Shenhua to grab points in the Workers' Stadium, but also allowed the team to continue to maintain a psychological advantage when facing Guoan. Si Shuai commented on this goal: "It shows the competitiveness of everyone in the Shenhua team."
Shenhua coach Slutsky
In the standings, Shenhua lost 5 points and is still far away from the goal of clearing the score. But the bigger challenge facing Shenhua now is the incomplete lineup. In particular, the absence of Guy, Teixeira and Wu Xi has a significant impact on Shenhua's offense. Now that Mineiro is injured again, Shenhua's strikers are stretched thin. Fortunately, after this round, the Chinese Super League has entered a short rest period. It is hoped that the injured can recover as soon as possible in two weeks to catch up with the restart of the league in early April.
