Titleist training camp: Slutsky has his second trophy in China

"Leonid Slutsky's Shanghai Shenhua defeated Shanghai Port in the Chinese Super Cup (3:2). The Russian coach's team made an incredible comeback, scoring two goals in extra time. For Leonid Viktorovich this is already the second trophy in the Chinese career. Read more - in the Izvestia article.

Victory in the last minutes

Slutsky's team faced last season's champion Shanghai Port, who were only one point ahead of Leonid Viktorovich's team. The opponent's lineup was a bit weaker: longtime leader Oscar left, and the top scorer of the last Super League season Wu Lei (34 goals in 30 rounds) was injured.

However, the game started with a Shanghai Port goal - Brazilian Gabrielzinho opened the scoring in the seventh minute. Slutsky's team then held a serious advantage: 12 shots in the first half, and in the 37th minute a great chance was missed by Brazilian forward Saulo Mineiro, who arrived in January. The striker took a sharp shot from the penalty area, but the goalkeeper pulled the ball out of the corner.

After the break, Shanghai Shenhua continued to attack, but equalized only in the 67th minute - midfielder Ibrahim Amadou shot from outside the box after a corner kick and hit the crossbar. It seemed that Slutsky's team had a good chance to press their opponents, but in the 80th minute Gabrielzinho scored a double and put Shanghai Port ahead again.

The remaining minutes burned very quickly, and Shenhua could not create another scoring chance. In the penalty time Slutsky's team earned a standard in the other team's half of the field, though, far away from the goal. Defender Jiang Shenglong latched on to the pass and the ball bounced to substitute Yu Hanchao, who sent it into the net from close range. The 37-year-old midfielder had appeared on the pitch seven minutes before the episode.

Three minutes later, on 90+7th, the victory for Shanghai Shenhua was snatched by Andre Luiz - the Brazilian forward, after a corner kick, headed the third goal into the Shanghai Port goal and brought Slutsky his second trophy in China.

The representative of Russian soccer

The coach took charge of Shanghai in December 2023, and it is already a tradition to open the season with a victory in the Chinese Super Cup. A year ago, Shanghai Port were also defeated, but in a match with a less twisted plot - only 1:0. And that game was Slutsky's debut at the helm of Shanghai Shenhua.

- Slutsky perfectly represents Russian soccer in China," Vyacheslav Koloskov, honorary president of the Russian Football Union, told Izvestia. - Last season his team claimed the championship until the last round, and this season they started with a willful victory in the Super Cup. I wish him to take the national championship this year. Given that Shanghai Port has lost its leader (Oscar), it is quite possible.

The new season of the Chinese championship starts in two weeks - on February 22, Shanghai Shenhua will meet Changchun Yatai in the first round of the Super League. Last campaign Slutsky's team finished second, only one point behind Shanghai Port. Leonid Viktorovich was recognized as the best coach of the month several times.