Shanghai Sipg beat Chongqing Tongliang Long 3-2 in the Chinese Super League on Sunday. It was a match decided by two penalties and a late goal, with the visitors taking all three points after a hard-fought 90 minutes. The result keeps Shanghai seventh in the table, while Chongqing remain ninth.
Xiang Yuwang opened the scoring from the spot in the 19th minute, and by then Chongqing had already shown their intent. Li Zhenquan picked up a yellow card just two minutes later, and Xiang Yuwang would add another bookable offence of his own before half-time. Wei Zhen doubled the lead with a penalty of his own in the 39th minute, and it looked as though Chongqing would struggle to get back into it.
M. Ngadeu pulled one back right at the break, and that price has gone when Shanghai thought they could close the game out. Leonardo restored the two-goal cushion in the 51st minute, but Chongqing continued to work at the deficit. They brought on Yue Ruijie in the 58th minute and kept adding bodies, though Wu Yongqiang's late yellow card in the 90th minute suggested frustration was setting in.
Chongqing had more possession but struggled to turn it into clear-cut chances. They completed 315 passes from 379 attempts, while Shanghai managed 400 from 466. Chongqing registered 109 attacks against 85 for the visitors, but shots accuracy tells a different story — 31 per cent compared to 63 per cent for Shanghai.
Shanghai's efficiency was the difference. They took five shots on target and scored twice, while Chongqing hit the target four times but could only find the net once. Both sides created three big chances, but Shanghai's clinical edge was what separated them.
The result means Shanghai extend their advantage over Chongqing to two points in the table. Chongqing's nine defeats from 26 games still leave them in the lower half, while Shanghai's ten wins keep them within touching distance of the European places. It was a result that felt earned on the quality of the moments, not the quantity of possession.