6-0! Shenhua remains unbeaten for 18 rounds, 10-man Taishan suffers a thrashing! Wang Dalei becomes a "shot-on-target victim", Malele scores 3 goals.

In the 18th round of the 2024 Chinese Super League, a key match kicked off at Shanghai Stadium, featuring Shanghai Shenhua versus Shandong Taishan. Shenhua had remained unbeaten with 13 wins and 4 draws in the previous 17 rounds, currently sitting 5 points behind Shanghai Port in second place with one fewer game played. Shenhua's offensive capability is not top-tier in the league, but their defensive performance is exceptional. After 17 rounds, they had conceded only 6 goals, making them the only team whose conceded goals had not reached double digits! Taishan's performance this season has been unsatisfactory, currently ranking fifth with 30 points from 8 wins, 6 draws, and 3 losses. They trail Shanghai Port by 18 points, essentially dropping out of the title race.

Shenhua scored just 3 minutes into the match. Gao Tianyi delivered a corner from the left, Jin Shunkai headed it in, 1-0, Shenhua got a dream start! In the 11th minute, Manafa crossed from the right flank at a 45-degree angle, Malele headed it home, 2-0, Shenhua continued to extend their lead; In the 18th minute, Shenhua delivered a triple blow to Taishan. Wu Xi received a horizontal pass inside the box and then delivered it to the goalmouth, Malele easily pushed it in, 3-0!

In the 23rd minute, Li Yuanyi dribbled into the box from the right and then shot from a tight angle, hitting the side netting; In the 26th minute, Taishan suffered another setback. Crysan kicked down Zhu Chenjie during a counter-press in the front, and the excessive action provoked dissatisfaction from Shenhua players. During the conflict, Crysan pushed down Gao Tianyi, and the referee showed Crysan two consecutive yellow cards, sending him off, which also angered the Taishan team. Crysan wanted to argue with the referee but was pulled away by teammates; Trailing 0-3 and playing with one man less, the match was essentially decided.

In the 33rd minute, Malele received a lofted pass from a teammate, sprinted forward into the box, and then shot from a tight angle, saved by Wang Dalei, André Luis's follow-up shot was blocked; In the 43rd minute, Peng Xinli missed a one-on-one chance, but was also offside beforehand; In the 44th minute, three Shenhua players launched a counterattack, Malele scored from a goalmouth scramble, but the assistant referee raised the flag for offside; In the 3rd minute of first-half stoppage time, Malele's header from close range went slightly wide.

At halftime, Shenhua led 3-0. Shenhua had 64% possession, 11 shots with 4 on target resulting in 3 goals, while Taishan had 0 shots in the half, a performance completely unlike a top-table team. After the restart, in the 51st minute, André Luis scored with a low shot from the edge of the box, Wang Dalei couldn't reach it, 4-0, Taishan had collapsed!

In the 63rd minute, Malele shrugged off a defender in the box and blasted a shot into the far corner, Wang Dalei again failed to save it, 5-0, this had turned into a massacre! Scoring this goal, Malele completed a hat-trick; In the 84th minute, Yu Hanchao curled a shot into the net from inside the box with ease, Wang Dalei clearly misjudged the ball's trajectory. Shenhua scored 6 goals from 7 shots on target, Wang Dalei truly lived up to the name "shot-on-target victim".

Ultimately, Shenhua thrashed Taishan 6-0 at home, securing a resounding victory. They extended their league unbeaten streak to 18 rounds, continuing to closely chase the top-ranked Shanghai Port. Notably, this defeat also marked Taishan's largest margin of loss in club history, setting a shameful record spanning 30 years.