Shandong Taishan's Epic Road to the FA Cup Final 🚀
Shandong Taishan FC is on fire! 🔥 They just clinched a spot in the Chinese FA Cup final for the seventh year in a row after a nail-biting 1-0 victory over Chengdu Rongcheng on Tuesday in Jinan, Shandong Province.
The real action kicked off in the final minutes. In the 87th minute, Chengdu's Hu Hetao sent a slick pass to Manuel Palacios, who almost turned the game around. But Shandong's goalkeeper Wang Dalei had other plans, blocking the shot like a boss! 🧤💪
Just when we thought it was going to extra time, Shandong's Valeri Qazaishvili launched a killer cross in the 90th minute. The ball danced past a crowd of players and landed perfectly for Zheng Zheng, who was chilling next to the net. He tapped it in, scoring his first goal since 2021! Talk about a comeback! 🎉⚽
This win marks Shandong's third straight victory over Chengdu this season, all with clean sheets. They've already got eight FA Cup titles under their belt—the most among all clubs. After a hat-trick of cup wins from 2019 to 2022, they're hungry to reclaim the trophy they lost to Shanghai Shenhua last season.
Who's next? Shandong will face off against either Shanghai Shenhua or Shanghai Port in the final. The two Shanghai giants clash on Wednesday night, and it's gonna be epic! 🌆⚡
Shanghai Port is currently topping the Chinese Super League with 69 points, just two ahead of Shenhua. But don't count Shenhua out—they haven't lost to Port in their last three encounters, grabbing two wins and a draw. Plus, they've been the comeback kings lately, turning deficits into wins in their last three matches. This showdown is one you won't want to miss! 📺🔥
Reference(s):
Shandong look to extend Chinese FA Cup dominance after reaching final
cgtn.com
