Shanghai SIPG edge past Wuhan Three Towns in Super League encounter
Shanghai SIPG claimed a 3-2 victory over Wuhan Three Towns in the Super League's regular season round 23 on Thursday, August 14th. The away side overturned an early deficit to take all three points at their opponents' ground. J. Cadiz had given Wuhan the lead in the third minute before Wei Zhen doubled their advantage before half-time.And here's the thing about second-half momentum — Shanghai turned the match around through P. O. Ampem's brace. He opened his account in the 55th minute and added a second four minutes later to put the visitors ahead. Wuhan thought they had equalised when Leonardo's strike found the net in the 62nd minute, but the goal was disallowed for offside after VAR review. By then, Shanghai were already in control.
Antoine Leautey sealed the result in the 75th minute to complete Shanghai's comeback. Wuhan had a late chance to salvage a point when Li Ang's effort was also ruled out for offside in stoppage time. The match featured three substitutions for each side in the closing stages, with Wuhan bringing on Wu Lei and Fu Huan while Shanghai introduced Gustavo Sauer.
Shanghai dominated possession at 58 per cent and created five big chances compared to Wuhan's two. The visitors registered more attacks with 123 against 69 and attempted 24 crosses to Wuhan's 13. Wuhan were more direct with 54 long passes compared to Shanghai's 37, but could not convert their opportunities — six shots on target yielded only two goals.
The result leaves Wuhan Three Towns in 15th place with 20 points from 24 matches. Shanghai SIPG sit seventh with 33 points after 26 games, maintaining their position in the upper half of the table. The home side had shown improvement in recent fixtures with victories over Chongqing Tongliang Long and Sichuan Junqiu, but could not maintain that form against a more experienced Shanghai outfit.