Hulk-powered SIPG eyes Asian glory
Brazilian international on target as Shanghai vanquishes Evergrande
SHANGHAI — Brazilian international Hulk scored one goal and set up another as Shanghai SIPG all but sealed its spot in the AFC Champions League semifinals with a 4-0 first-leg rout of Guangzhou Evergrande on Tuesday.
Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Evergrande is on course to retain the Chinese Super League title but, barring a miracle, it is out of this quarterfinal all-Chinese tie even with the home leg to come.
Shorn of key midfielder Paulinho, the Brazilian who last week moved to Barcelona, Scolari’s men only woke up very briefly after the break but by then they were 2-0 down and their dreams of a domestic and continental double had evaporated.
Two second-half goals in as many minutes by Chinese international Wu Lei, one fed by Hulk, put the tie out of sight.
Scolari, who repeatedly shook his head at Monday’s media conference after rain played havoc with his training plans, revealed after the match that the air conditioning in the visitor’s dressing room at Shanghai Stadium was broken.
“We are in a sauna!” the Brazilian coach exclaimed to the press in English, with temperatures hovering around 33 degrees C, even as night fell.
Scolari refused to blame the loss on the heat, but his Evergrande side did feel the loss of Paulinho, he said.
“SIPG deserved the win tonight,” said the veteran coach who, like SIPG counterpart Andre Villas-Boas, is a former Chelsea manager.
“We paid the price for the tight and intensive match schedule. We also paid the price for the absence of Paulinho, Huang Bowen and Mei Fang and we were playing against such a strong opponent,” added Scolari, whose team leads SIPG by eight points in the domestic standings.
“Hulk is very strong, he has pace and he creates a lot of chances. He’s very threatening.”
The formidable Hulk was a muscular menace throughout the match.
Twice early on he shot weakly at Evergrande goalkeeper Zeng Cheng and midway through the first half he was snuffed out by the overworked Zeng.
Hulk then teed up $75 million Oscar, his fellow Brazilian, but he too shot straight at Zeng.
Oscar also saw a right-footed curler from distance whistle past Zeng’s far post.
Scolari spread his arms out in despair on the sidelines and gestured to his defense to smarten up.
After attacking midfielder Wu went over under minimal contact in the box, Hulk stepped up to ram home the penalty in the 38th minute.
It was his seventh goal in the Champions League this season.
A minute before the break, SIPG made it 2-0 when skipper Wang Shenchao popped up at the backpost for an easy tap-in.
No doubt Scolari gave his men a halftime grilling and Evergrande, a two-time Champions League winner, started the better in the second period.
But, with just over an hour on the clock, Wu punished it with a classy solo effort, and in the 64th minute he scored again after being played in by the rampaging Hulk to make it 4-0.
“Excellent performance, great attitude from the players. We proved our power and ambition,” said Villas-Boas, whose squad has hit a rocky patch of form in the CSL to drop out of the title race.
“Our players deserved the win. We have had a very difficult time in the CSL, but today we overcame lots of obstacles and played an excellent match.
“We’ve been chasing Evergrande all the time. We have to keep in mind that there is the away game to go. Evergrande is a team that keeps winning games all the time, so we are always careful with them.”
Without saying which players he was referring to, the Portuguese then deadpanned: “The referee should have sent off two Evergrande players, but he forgot.”
In the western half of the draw, last year’s runner-up Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates was held to a 0-0 draw by Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in their quarterfinal first leg.
The teams will face each other again on Sept 11 in Riyadh, with the winner meeting either Iran’s Persepolis or Al Ahli, also of Saudi Arabia.
“It’s difficult to say who is closer,” said Al Ain head coach Zoran Mamic after the stalemate.
“We are satisfied with this result. We didn’t concede a goal, which is very important. And after three weeks I’m sure my team will be much more ready.”