Shanghai Shenhua played out a goalless draw with Russian Premier League side Zenit Saint Petersburg in a club friendly on September 27. The match served as a key fitness test and squad assessment during the league break for the Chinese Super League side.
Shenhua's form in their last five competitive matches reads two wins, one draw, and two losses. Facing a strong Zenit side, they organised a solid defensive display that limited clear chances but were unable to find a breakthrough in attack. The manager began making changes in the 64th minute, bringing on Wang Shilong for Yang Zexiang. A double substitution followed in the 80th minute, with Zhu Yue and João Vinícius replacing W. Manafa and Xu Haoyang. Rafael Ratão, the team's top scorer this season with 15 goals, was then replaced by R. Zekvi in the 82nd minute.
Zenit also rotated their squad heavily, making three sets of substitutions in the 65th, 76th, and 83rd minutes. Both teams treated the encounter as a valuable opportunity to build match sharpness and refine tactics ahead of their respective league campaigns. The draw concludes Shenhua's preparation period, and they now turn their full focus to the league run-in. Their next fixture is at home against Yunnan Yukun on October 10.
