1-2! Beijing Guoan suffers a shocking home defeat, 10-man Wuhan Sanzhen triumphs as the underdog! Liu Dianzuo makes 10 miraculous saves to secure victory.

In the 18th round of the 2024 Chinese Super League, a key match took place at Beijing Workers' Stadium, featuring Guoan versus Wuhan Sanzhen. Guoan has been performing well lately, achieving two consecutive shutouts, notably a 2-0 victory over Shandong Taishan. Presently, Guoan holds 34 points from 10 wins, 4 draws, and 3 losses, sitting 4th in the table. They are 14 points behind leaders Shanghai Port and 1 point behind 3rd-place Chengdu Rongcheng, so their most practical aim is to break into the top three. Wuhan Sanzhen currently has 5 wins, 3 draws, and 9 losses, totaling 18 points and ranking 10th, leading the relegation zone by 5 points, facing some pressure to avoid relegation. In their last six league encounters, Guoan has a slight advantage with 2 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss. In the first meeting this season, Guoan won 1-0.

After kickoff, Guoan dominated possession, while Sanzhen focused on defensive counterattacks. Just 5 minutes into the match, Deng Hanwen made a fierce sliding tackle that knocked down Li Lei, but the referee did not penalize it, which emboldened Deng's aggressive play. In the 12th minute, Lin Liangming launched a long-range shot from outside the box, which Liu Dianzuo saved. At 14 minutes, Li Lei delivered a cross from the left flank, Fa Biao made a diving header at the goalmouth, but the angle was too direct and Liu Dianzuo collected it.

In the 23rd minute, Li Lei was injured and substituted off, with Feng Boxuan coming on. At 33 minutes, Deng Hanwen attempted another sliding tackle, but this time he was not so fortunate. He missed the ball and his foot directly struck Adebenro's foot, prompting the referee to show a red card and send him off, leaving Wuhan Sanzhen with 10 men. In the 36th minute, Adebenro received the ball in the box, turned, and shot, but the ball narrowly missed.

In the 41st minute, Sanzhen launched a counterattack with a direct pass from the back, Enrique took the ball and burst into the left side of the penalty area, evaded a defender, and blasted a left-footed shot into the net, giving Sanzhen a 1-0 lead despite being a man down! At halftime, Sanzhen led 1-0. After the restart, Fa Biao advanced into the box to receive the ball, then turned and swept a shot, which Liu Dianzuo saved; Adebenro's follow-up shot then hit the post.

In the 63rd minute, Guoan faced another setback: Mamadu tackled Liu Yiming, and after VAR intervention, the referee showed him a red card and sent him off! Guoan was now trailing and had lost their numerical advantage, making the situation difficult. At 65 minutes, Adebenro's header struck the post, followed by Yang Liyu's long-range shot being saved by Liu Dianzuo!

In the 73rd minute, Adebenro dribbled past defenders on the left and made a shot-like cross, which Liu Dianzuo again leaped to save and avert danger. At 74 minutes, Naibijiang curled a shot from the right side of the box, and Liu Dianzuo flew to push it out for a corner! In the 79th minute, Yang Liyu attempted a long-range shot from outside the box, but the ball veered wildly off target. Guoan continued their aggressive attack but repeatedly failed to score, and instead Sanzhen scored again.

In the 82nd minute, Sanzhen mounted a counterattack, Liu Yue finished at the goalmouth to score, making it 2-0! Guoan's hopes faded. In the 94th minute, Fa Biao scored a consolation goal, 1-2, but time was nearly gone. Ultimately, Guoan had to swallow a bitter defeat at home, producing a major upset of this round. Guoan's three-match winning streak ended, and they fell 4 points behind Chengdu Rongcheng, who won, making their quest for a top-three position very challenging. The best player of the match was undoubtedly Liu Dianzuo, who made 10 saves, repeatedly denying Guoan's shots, and was the key contributor to his team's victory.