Late at night on September 30, 2023, Shanghai Shenhua hosted Qingdao Hainiu in the 27th round of the Chinese Super League. Despite the mediocre performance of Qingdao Hainiu this season, they showed a lot of confidence in the game. In the first half, Shanghai Shenhua broke the deadlock with a penalty kick after missing several good chances. Despite the difference in rankings between the two teams, the match itself showed that Qingdao Hainiu's strength should not be underestimated.
Since the 2012 season, Shanghai Shenhua has never lost against Qingdao. Especially since the 2013 season, Shenhua has scored 10 goals and shut out Qingdao in their last four matches. Qingdao Hainiu are not worried about relegation, so they are very comfortable in the game.
Both sides picked up wins in the last round of matches. Shanghai Shenhua beat Cangzhou Lions 2-0, while Qingdao Hainiu beat Nantong Zhiyun 3-1 at home.
In the first 20 minutes of the first half, Shanghai Shenhua missed the goal at least twice. First, in the 11th minute, Shenhua got a corner kick, Jin Shunkai headed the ball inside the penalty area, but the ball hit the crossbar and bounced out. Then, in the 17th minute, Shenhua's foreign aid player Malelai had a good chance to score, but he missed the ball again when facing Qingdao Hainiu's defenders.
In the 26th minute, Shanghai Shenhua was awarded a penalty kick. In the attack, Shenhua player's shot hit the arm of Qingdao Hainiu defense player. Cao Jie's penalty kick instantly gave Shanghai Shenhua the lead, making the score 1-0. It has to be mentioned that Liu, who took the penalty kick, showed calmness and composure in Cao Li Ding.
