China
2020.07.25 21:31 GMT+8

Guangzhou Evergrande and Wuhan Zall start new season with 2-0 double

Updated 2020.07.25 22:34 GMT+8
CGTN

Players of Guangzhou Evergrande celebrate after scoring a goal in the CSL game against Shanghai Greenland Shenhua in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, July 25, 2020. /VCG

The much-delayed 2020 Chinese Super League (CSL) season kicked off on Saturday night with a game between Guangzhou Evergrande and Shanghai Greenland Shenhua in Dalian. After 90 minutes of competition, Guangzhou defeated Shanghai 2-0 thanks to two goals by Wei Shihao.

Shanghai are definitely Wei's favorite opponents as he has scored six goals in the three games against the side.

In fact, they almost set goals up for him. In the 7th minute, they cleared the ball to Paulinho who passed it to Wei in the left side of the penalty area. Wei dodged defenders to find a great space to take a shot. His volley was simply too fast and too strong for the goalkeeper to stop, making it an early 1-0 for Evergrande.

Wei Shihao of Guangzhou Evergrande dribbles the ball in the CSL game against Shanghai Greenland Shenhua in Dalian, July 25, 2020. /VCG

Shanghai launched counter-attack in the 20th minute, but Stephan El Shaarawy was taken down by Guangzhou's Huang Bowen who then received the first yellow card of the season. El Shaarawy's free kick was denied by Evergrande's wall and the shot skidded slightly wide.

Guangzhou almost made it 2-0 in the first half. In the 31st minute, Ai Kesen received the skip pass from Yang Liyu and had a free shot, but ended up missing.

Guangzhou continued to be the dominant side in the second half. In the 66th minute, former Everton player Jiang Guangtai launched an attack with a long pass from the back field to Yang Liyu, who was too fast for any of Shanghai's defenders to catch up. Yang then passed the ball in to the penalty area and Wei Shihao got on the end of it to grab a brace. At 2-0 and cruising, Guangzhou controlled the remainder of the game and ultimately won a comprehensive victory in the first game of the season.

In the other game on Saturday night, Wuhan Zall achieved an easy win of 2-0 over Qingdao Huanghai in Suzhou. Liu Yun was Wuhan's best player. In the 30th minute, his shot deflected off Qingdao's Yin Yaji and flew into the net, giving Wuhan a 1-0 lead. Then in the 52nd minute, he struck again and made it 2-0.

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