In the 23rd round of the 2022 Chinese Super League season, leader Wuhan Three Town defeated relegated Guangzhou 4-1 at home on November 3rd. The goal scorers included Davidson (who scored twice), Stancho and Xie Pengfei. With this victory, Wuhan Three Town continues to hold the top spot in the table with a goal difference over Shandong Taishan, however, the challenge for the next round seems to be even tougher.
In the last round of matches, Wuhan Three Town lost 0-1 to Chengdu, with foreigners Davidson and Stancho not performing well, and captain Malcolm received a yellow card, which will lead to his suspension after accumulating four yellow cards. Nevertheless, Malcolm's absence didn't seem to affect the team too much. Coach Pedro still fielded four foreigners, with Stanciu controlling the midfield and Edmilson replacing Malcolm as a striker, partnering Davidson.
At the beginning of the match, Wuhan Sanzhen quickly took control of the game with their strong strength and scored in the first 4 minutes of the match. Davidson took a corner kick from Stanciu in the penalty area, but the goal was disallowed due to a handball foul. However, in the 10th minute, Xie Pengfei crossed the ball inside the penalty area and Stancho followed up with a shot to give Sanzhen a 1-0 lead. Guangzhou's strength under relegation pressure should not be underestimated. In the 17th minute, foreigner Guilherme's free kick broke through the goal, but then he left the field due to injury. Sanzhen quickly capitalized on their chances after Guilherme's departure and Davidson added a second in the 31st minute to give Sanzhen a 2-1 lead.
In the second half, Xie Pengfei scored in the 45th minute off a cross from Wallace to extend the lead to 3-1, then Wuhan Sanzhen replaced Stancho and Xie Pengfei as the game went into garbage time. Davidson put the icing on the cake in the final minute to seal a 4-1 win for Sanzhen.
Meanwhile, Shandong Taishan also beat Tianjin Jinmen Tiger 4-1 in the 23rd round, but was tied by Wuhan Sanzhen only a few hours later. In this round, Wuhan Sanzhen had a much easier time compared to Taishan, after all, Guangzhou is a far cry from Sanzhen.
Nevertheless, Wuhan Sanzhen can't take it lightly after the win. In the next round, they will face Beijing Guoan, who won 5-1 in the first round, but the then Guoan is obviously not comparable to the current team. What's more, Guoan will be hungry for revenge against San Zhen in the next round, and with the advantage of home field, San Zhen's challenge should not be underestimated. Coach Pedro needs to get ready for the next round. Luckily, Malcolm will be released from suspension in the next round, and his combination with Zhang Yuning will be the key to the game, so let's wait and see! (DD)
