SHANGHAI, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai Shenhua sealed a narrow 1-0 victory over Shanghai Port to claim the Chinese Football Association (CFA) Super Cup title for the fourth time here on Sunday.
Port was crowned in the Chinese Super League, while Shenhua lifted the CFA cup in the 2023 season. Several key players of both teams were sidelined due to injury, including Shenhua's Dai Weijun and Port's Jiang Guangtai, Cai Huikang and Li Shenglong.
In the goalless first half, Shenhua launched aggressive attack. However, both Xu Haoyang and Cephas Malele's attempts in the box did not find the net.
The deadlock was broken in the 55th minute as Xu sent the ball in front of the goal after receiving Malele's corner kick. Port goalkeeper Yan Junling tried to block it but failed, only to see it bounce into the net after hitting Malele. Shenhua managed to maintain the advantage until the end.
"Even a good team has its weakness, and we try to take advantage of it, and keep intensity and high level attack. I think we deserved the win, because we created more chances," said Shenhua head coach Leonid Slutsky. ■
