Shanghai Shenhua kicked off their AFC Champions League campaign with a victory in the opening round, placing them in a strong early position to qualify from their group alongside fellow Chinese sides Shanghai Port and Beijing Guoan, who also won their respective matches.
The win provides a positive start to their continental campaign. It follows a mixed run of form domestically, with three wins and two losses in their last five outings across all competitions. Most recently, they secured a 2-1 win over Tampines Rovers in the Chinese Super League last week, with goals from Xu Haoyang and Yang Shuai.
Leading the line for Shenhua this season has been Brazilian forward Rafael Ratão, who tops the club's scoring charts with 15 goals in 26 appearances.
Attention now turns to their next fixture, a home match against Russian side Zenit on September 27. Supporters can check the team's upcoming fixtures and review the current squad list on the club's official pages.
First reported at sina.cn
