Pato penalty miss as 10-man Shenhua cling to draw

SHANGHAI: Tianjin Quanjian’s Brazilian import Alexandre Pato missed an 88th-minute penalty as 10-man Shanghai Shenhua held on for a fiery 1-1 draw in the Chinese Super League on Saturday.

The Brazilian, who cost 18 million euros ($ 19.2 million) from Villarreal in January, blazed over the bar after referee Li Haixin provoked a furious reaction from fans at Shanghai’s Hongkou Stadium by awarding the spotkick for a handball.

Former AC Milan star Pato was mocked after the miss by Shenhua midfielder Sun Shi lin, who sarcastically patted the striker on the back and gave a thumbs-up to his face.

The 27- year- old Brazi lian, recruited by manager Fabio Cannavaro in the winter transfer window, has endured a torrid and goalless start to his career in China.

He missed several chances to open his goal account when Tianjin slumped to a 2- 0 defeat against Guangzhou R& F in their season opener a week ago.

“In football, a lot of players miss penalties,” said Cannavaro, according to the Shanghai Daily newspaper. “I regard it as bad luck. I’m generally happy with the team’s performance.”

It was a dramatic end to a badtempered and dramatic encounter that had seen Gus Poyet’s Shenhua reduced to 10 men in the first half.

Qin Sheng was given a straight red card for a stamp on the ankle of Quanjian’s Belgian star Axel Witsel.

That left Argentine striker Carlos Tevez, reportedly the world’s highest paid player with a salary of 38 million euros a year, largely isolated up front.

But Shenhua, roared on by a vociferous near 33,000- capacity crowd, took a surprise lead with 16 minutes to go when Giovanni Moreno latched onto a clever backheel by Cao Yunding to fire home an unstoppable left- foot finish.

Witsel equalised with his first goal since his 20 million euro move from Zenit St Petersburg.

The 28-year-old shook off marker Fredy Guarin to lash home a superb left-foot volley from Wang Yongpo’s corner.

But many thought Witsel was lucky to be on the pitch after minutes earlier receiving only a yellow card after appearing to elbow the Colombian Guarin.

“Both teams picked up a lot of yellow cards in the match,” said Shenhua boss Poyet. “Controlling emotions is a complicated issue, and our team should have done better.

“But this i s our players’ character. If you force them to control themselves, it might affect their performance.”

The other two matches played Saturday also ended in 1- 1 draws.

Hong Kong international Festus Baise gave Guizhou Zhicheng a 23rd- minute lead at home to Beijing Guoan. But Turkey’s Burak Yilmaz equalised before half-time. — AFP