SIPG tops Tianjin to remain unbeaten in CSL
Shanghai SIPG playmaker Oscar scores from the penalty spot against Tianjin Teda during their Chinese Super League match in Suzhou, eastern Jiangsu Province, on Monday night. SIPG won 4-1 to stay unbeaten in the league after eight rounds of matches.
Shanghai SIPG extended its unbeaten record to eight games after a 4-1 victory over Tianjin Teda in the Chinese Super League in Suzhou, eastern Jiangsu Province, on Monday night.
Shanghai broke the deadlock in the 29th minute when Tianjin failed to clear a corner and Uzbek midfielder Odil Akhmedov lashed a shot into the net from outside the box to make it 1-0.
Brazil forward Hulk increased Shanghai’s lead in first-half stoppage time. He received a one-touch pass from Akhmedov and scored, but his goal was ruled out for marginal offside. After a VAR ruling, however, the referee awarded the goal to SIPG.
Tianjin also had a good chance to pull one back in injury time, but Ghana international Frank Acheampong failed to convert the penalty kick.
SIPG scored twice in the second half, with a header from Austria striker Marko Arnautovic in the 71st and a penalty from Brazil playmaker Oscar in the 81st, before full back Zhao Honglue pulled one back for Tianjin in injury time.
With the victory Shanghai leads the Group B table on 20 points, while Tianjin remains winless, ranking last among the eight sides in the Suzhou bubble.
Earlier, Shijiazhuang Ever Bright beat Hebei China Fortune 3-1.
The first half saw entertaining play from both sides. A header from Hebei defender Ren Hang broke the deadlock in the 35th. However, Luiz Muriqui managed to level the score with a penalty for Shijiazhuang just four minutes later.
A sudden rain shower sparked the match to life in the second half. Ever Bright fought back hard and took the lead when 37-year-old veteran Matheus Leite Nascimento scored with a long-range effort in the 82nd, with Oscar’s right-foot shot in the 97th sealing the victory for Shijiazhuang, which has 10 points and lies fifth in the group. Hebei is a point ahead in fourth.
Shanghai SIPG striker Hulk reacts after scoring against Tianjin Teda in Suzhou on Monday.
Meanwhile, Fabio Cannavaro has expressed concern over the agitation his Guangzhou Evergrande team has shown under mounting psychological pressure more than a month into the modified CSL season.
The Italian said he was aware that agitation had crept into his side after spending nearly six weeks in the CSL bubble, but that he could do nothing about that.
“How can I help my players? I want to see which player can help me. It has been more than seven months that I did not see my family. We all have families,” he said through an interpreter.
“And I found during the recent matches some players, including some on the bench, and working staff began to show agitation. I hope we can calm down,” the former Azzurri defender said.
His Shandong Luneng counterpart Li Xiaopeng said he would stick to rotating his players for the remaining fixtures, potentially at the cost of their performance, to help ease the psychological strain.
“As we have to spend all days in this area, we have been under huge mental pressure which could blunt your reaction on the field. Then you could easily get injured,” he said.
“I am determined to carry on with the rotation system, even if that means we will lose some games. Nothing is more important than the players’ health.”
Defending champion Guangzhou currently sits atop Group A with 19 points after eight rounds, followed by Shandong with 16 points in the Dalian bubble.
