Six minutes into the battle, Cui Qinglu cleverly sent a precise cross from the right, Xu Li header, but only by a hair's breadth, the ball flew out of the bottom line.
In the blink of an eye, the game entered the 23rd minute when Wu Housheng showed his skill in long-distance shooting from the outside of the penalty area, and Bao Yaxiong reacted swiftly to gather the ball into his arms.
Immediately after that, in the 30th minute, Teixeira made a quick grab and a precise straight shot, but Malele's one-two chance could not be grasped, and Kim Gengmin stepped in just in time to clear the danger.
In the 43rd minute of the match, Malelai moved too far and stepped on an opponent, and Kuwaiti referee Ahmed Ali had no hesitation in showing a yellow card after confirmation from VAR.
Heo Li scored for Gwangju in the 45th+4th minute, but the goal was disallowed after Jung Ho Yoon alerted referee Ahmed Ali by Kuwaiti video assistant referee Abdullah Kandari after he was fouled first.
In the 48th minute, Andre Luis missed a good opportunity when he took a powerful shot from outside the box, but the ball went slightly over the line.
Into the second half, in the 65th minute, Gao Tianyi accurate positioning ball to the penalty area, Wu Xi header nearly broke the goal, Kim Gengmin catch the ball off the hand, nearly own goal.
The game went down to the wire and Shanghai Shenhua came close to equalizing in the 88th minute when Xie Pengfei made too many adjustments and Manafa missed a good opportunity when his shot was blocked.
Player ratings were revealed during the technical statistics session. Shanghai Shenhua lineup is as follows: Start [4-3-1-2], goalkeeper Bao Yaxiong, defenders Chen Jinyi, Zhu Chenjie, Eddy, Yang Zexiang, midfielders Wu Xi, Wang Haijian, Gao Tianyi, front-row Teixeira, forwards André Luis, Mallet.
On the bench, Ma Zhen, Zhou Zhengkai, Jin Shunkai, Zhou Junchen, Wang Yifan, Fernando, and Han Jiawen are on standby.
Gwangju FC lineup: Starting [4-4-2], goalkeeper Kim Geng-min, defenders Kim Jin-ho, Byun Joon-soo, Kim Kyeon-jae, Lee Yeo-gi, midfielders Choi Kyung-rok, Jeong Ho-yeon, Park Tae, Oh Ho-seong, and strikers Lee Hee-gyun, Hee-ri.
On the bench, Roh Hee-dong, Ahn Yeong-kyu, Lee Yoo-woo, Lee Sang-ki, Lee Gang, Kim Han-gil, and Moon Min-seo are on standby.
