On December 4, in the stadium of Jinjiang Sports Center, the 29th round of the Chinese Super League was in full swing, but Guangzhou City suffered a seven-game losing streak with a 1-2 defeat against Shanghai SIPG after a big rotation of the lineup.
With the Chinese Super League coming to an end and a tight schedule, Guangzhou City's lack of bench depth has put the team in great trouble. Following a 0-1 loss to Tianjin Jinmen Tigers in the previous round, the team has lost six consecutive matches. The previous relegation dividend gained from relegation rival Wuhan Changjiang's wage arrears has also been depleted. In the face of the losing streak, coach Li Weifeng said helplessly that the team has felt tired and the reserves from the winter training can only support the players to play a full 65 minutes.
Before the game, the Guangzhou City team members had a stony expression on their faces.
In the upcoming next round of matches, Guangzhou City will face relegation rivals Guangzhou in a crosstown derby. As a result, Li Weifeng left most of his starters on the bench and sent five starting U23 players to face Shanghai SIPG's full Chinese squad. After three consecutive defeats, Leco "stepped down" and Xi Zhikang became the acting coach of Shanghai SIPG.
The first half of the match produced three goals from both sides. In the 39th minute, Shanghai SIPG attacked from the left, Wu Lei's header hit the goal frame, and Vargas added the first goal. Two minutes later, Guangzhou City took advantage of a corner kick and Wen Yongjun's long-range shot hit Wang Yiwei, but the goal was eventually awarded to Shanghai SIPG for an oolong. Four minutes later, the situation changed again. Vargas was tripped in the box and Wu Lei's penalty kick put the score beyond the reach again.
Facing the powerful Shanghai SIPG, Guangzhou City's youth-oriented team spent most of the game in passive defense in their half of the field. 6-30 shot ratio and 1-9 shot-to-goal ratio truly reflected the course of the game.
After the match, Li Wei Feng said, "Although 11 players were rotated, every player had something to pursue and something to think about on the pitch. Even though the score was not satisfactory, I very much recognize every player for playing with Shanghai Harbour in such a score." In the second half, Li Wei Feng even replaced 17-year-old Su Yuliang, "We have players born in 2004 and 2006, but they are not afraid of the opponent at all. We hope to win the next Guangzhou derby. Today's rotation is to get a good result in the next game."
