On the night of Wuhan Sports Center's brilliant lights, at 19:30 on October 29th, a key battle of the 20th round of the Chinese Super League is about to start. The showdown between Wuhan Three Town and Chengdu Chengdu is not only about honor, but also about ranking. In the first half, Mutalifu hit the goal frame with a stunning shot, and then broke the defense of Chengdu Chengdu with a single cut; however, in the second half, both sides failed to score again, and Wuhan Sanzhen finally lost at home with a score of 0-1.
Prior to the match, Wuhan Tri-Town topped the table with 17 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses for 53 points, while Chengdu Chengdu were ninth with 8 wins, 8 draws and 5 losses for 32 points. The two teams' starting lists are led by Wuhan Tri-Town's Stancho, Davidson, Malcolm, and Wallace, while Chengdu Chengdu is led by four foreigners, Richard Windbichler, Saldanha, Jin You, and Romulo.
At the beginning of the match, in the 5th minute, Saldaña took a long-distance shot from outside the penalty area, the angle of which was too right and was easily confiscated by Liu Dengzheng. In the 16th minute, Romulo's precise cross from the left side of the field, Mutalifu tried to grab the ball, but unfortunately hit the goal frame. In the 19th minute, Jin You's header from the right side of the field was deflected by the goalkeeper. In the 25th minute, Chengdu Rongcheng counterattacked quickly, Saldanha passed the ball accurately, Mutalifu cut into the penalty area, a beautiful one-two, but the assistant referee indicated offside first, VAR confirmed the goal is invalid, Chengdu Rongcheng 1-0 lead Wuhan Sanzhen!
At the end of the half, Wuhan Sanzhen was 0-1 behind Chengdu Rongcheng. The match resumed in the 47th minute, Wuhan Sanzhen successfully counter-attacked and Davidson shot over the crossbar from the right side. In the 52nd minute, Romulo's long diagonal pass led to Jin You's shot from a small angle, which hit the side netting. In the 67th minute, Chengdu Rongcheng spoiled Wuhan Sanzhen's set piece and counterattacked quickly, but Saldaña's shot did not pose a threat.
In the 69th minute, Tang Xin crossed from the right and Jin You's shot was blocked. In the 77th minute, Edmilson created a chance for Malcolm, but Zhang Yan parried the ball off the line. Although Wuhan Sanzhen had several chances from corner kicks, they could not be converted into goals. In the 84th minute, Deng Zhuoxiang took a left corner kick and Malcolm's header was parried out by Zhang Yan.
After a fierce competition, Wuhan Sanzhen finally lost 0-1 to Chengdu Rongcheng at home.
Starting lineups for both sides:
Wuhan Sanzhen Starts: 22-Liu Dianzheng, 3-Wallace, 4-Yin Yagi, 12-Zhang Xiaobin, 20-Gao Zhunyi, 23-Renhang, 25-Deng Hanwen, 30-Xie Pengfei, 43-Stanchu, 11-Davidson, 13-Malcolm
Substitutes: 1 - Wu Fei, 2 - Xiong Fei, 19 - Zhang Wentao, 31 - Luo Senwen, 32 - Lv Haidong, 37 - Xu Haoyang (U23), 40 - Zhang Hui (U23)
Chengdu Rongcheng start: 33-Zhang Yan, 5-Hu Ruibao, 3-Tang Xin, 8-Zhou Dingyang, 26-Liu Tao, 29-Mutalifu Yimingkazhi (U23), 40-Richard Windbichler, 39-Gan Chiu, 12-Sardanha, 11-Jin You, 10-Romulo
Substitutes: 2-Hu Huotao (U23), 13-Hu Jing, 15-Wu Guichao, 14-Han Guanghui, 17-Gan Rui, 19-Xiang Baixu, 18-Min Junlin, 24-Hsing Yu, 21-Meng Junjie (U23), 28-Wang Hanlin, 36-Gou Junchen, 37-Han Xuan
