China win 2-1 in gritty fightback in Asian Cup opener

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Minutes after the final whistle, Marcello Lippi's players ran over to applaud a crowd of 3,000-odd euphoric Chinese supporters, looking down on their heroes from the top tier of the sun-drenched Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium, mightily relieved to have avoided a nightmarish start to their Asian Cup campaign.

Despite having the enthusiastic backing, China plumbed new depths in the first half before coming from behind to win 2-1 over debutants Kyrgyzstan. After the game, the scenes were of utter jubilation, yet these remain early days and much more will be known about China's potential to turn heads in the United Arab Emirates after their next two games – Friday's tricky clash with the Philippines followed by the much-anticipated showdown against arch-rivals South Korea.

Overall, however, this was an encouraging occasion for Lippi's men. They proved their strength of character against spirited and obdurate opponents and, while not in peak condition, showed enough in attack to justify a scrappy victory.

Vociferous Chinese supporters make their presence felt at the Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium during the AFC Asian Cup in Al Ain, the United Arab Emirates, January 7, 2019. /VCG Photo

China, who have won their opening game at the Asian Cup in each of the last three editions, were simply appalling before the break as their coach's bizarre decision to switch to a 5-3-2 formation left them toothless in attack and all at sea defensively.

The result was predictably disastrous as Akhlidin Israilov's rasping half-volley put Kyrgyzstan ahead and in total control. Aleksandr Krestinin's side could and should have been further in front had they not missed so many decent openings.

To Lippi's credit, China changed tack for the second period and it was a game of two halves as Pavel Matiash's own goal and a brilliant solo effort from Yu Dabao ensured Team Dragon emerged 2-1 winners.

"The first half was very poor and I am not happy about it," Lippi said. "But the response for the second half was excellent and I am very proud of the team. I think we put on a great performance for our 1.4 billion Chinese fans."

Kyrgyzstan's 31-year-old goalkeeper Pavel Matiash (C) has a nightmare moment to forget during their clash with China at the the AFC Asian Cup 2019 in Al Ain, the United Arab Emirates, January 7, 2019. /VCG Photo

Not that Krestinin saw it that way after watching his side squander an early lead and a prime opportunity to cause a major upset. The Kyrgyzstan coach was “disappointed with the result” and felt his team had made "too many errors", no more so than in China's equalizer on 50 minutes.

Kyrgyzstan appeared to be facing only minimal danger when goalkeeper Pavel Matiash jumped to handle what seemed to be an easy catch following a China corner. But then panic suddenly set in as Matiash committed a howler-of-the-tournament contender by palming the ball into his own net.

For China, who came into the Asian Cup on the back of a miserable run of form in which they collected only one win in seven games, this felt like a timely respite. "We are extremely fortunate to level the score through their goalkeeper's error," Lippi admitted.

Things could have been so different before fortune began frowning on the White Falcons. China were listless during the opening stages as Lippi's tactical switch backfired. Kyrgyzstan were only too delighted to capitalize and they truly excelled in terms of goal-mouth action, demonstrating a tantalizing blend of speed and guile and creating several gilt-edged opportunities.

China's Jin Jingdao (L) during the AFC Asian Cup game against Kyrgyzstan in Al Ain, the United Arab Emirates, January 7, 2019. /VCG Photo

Huffing and puffing on the touchline, Lippi responded by replacing the ineffective Jin Jingdao with Yu Dabao just 24 minutes into the first half to inject more urgency into the attack. The Shandong Luneng midfielder, who was voted the most popular homegrown player in the 2018 Chinese Super League season, was clearly unimpressed at the decision and strode off down the tunnel straight away.

Lippi played down the incident afterwards and the tempo duly increased but China were still up against it with several potentially influential individuals struggling, most notably the Hebei CFFC veteran Zhang Chengdong and the Guangzhou Evergrande stalwart Zhang Linpeng.

In stark contrast, 23-year-old Liu Yang was outstanding on his international debut. Showing some lovely touches and incredible agility, the Shandong Luneng starlet played with a maturity beyond his years. It was his perfectly weighted delivery that almost set up Wu Lei to open his scoring account.

However, China was made to pay for a brief lapse in concentration as Kyrgyzstan took a deserved lead just before half-time. From a simple throw-in, Mirlan Mirzaev sent a clever knockdown into the path of the lively Israilov who, arriving unmarked at the edge of the box, squeezed his finish past the despairing lunges of Yan Junling.

China coach Marcello Lippi made a couple of tactical switches in the AFC Asian Cup game against Kyrgyzstan in Al Ain, the United Arab Emirates, January 7, 2019. /VCG Photo

Lippi's men trudged towards the dressing room shell-shocked and second best to an irrepressible Kyrgyzstani side, and the 2006 World Cup-winning coach was under no illusion why. Tactical clarity, or more pointedly the lack of it, was chiefly to blame. The absence of their dependable captain Zheng Zhi, who missed the opener due to suspension, hadn't helped, either.

Lippi has revealed he ripped into his players during a furious halftime team talk and the Italian tactician swapped Hao Junmin for Shi Ke and reverted to a back four immediately after the interval. Whatever was said at halftime seemed to work as China dominated thereafter.

They pulled one back after the Central Asians were undone by the poor Matiash – the first ever goalkeeper to score an own goal in Asian Cup history – and Yu completed the turnaround as he took his goal excellently, rounding the keeper with ease before tucking away.

The only blot on an otherwise impressive night for China was a potentially serious injury suffered by their top marksman Wu Lei, but Lippi's reshaped back-line repelled everything flung at them over the hectic final exchanges.