Chinese Super League goalkeeper blasted for ‘the ultimate gamesmanship’ with theatrics enraging Shanghai Port fans
- Chengdu Rongcheng’s Zhang Yan appeared to waste time throughout a 1-0 win over Shanghai Port
- Striker Wu Lei remonstrated with Zhang and rubbed his hair, with the goalkeeper then rolling around on the turf feigning injury and clutching his face
A Chinese Super league goalkeeper has come in for criticism for showing “the ultimate gamesmanship” with a series of theatrics during a crucial top-of-the-table clash on Saturday night.
Chengdu Rongcheng goalkeeper Zhang Yan appeared to waste time throughout a 1-0 win over Shanghai Port, increasingly more so in the final moments before a late Manuel Palacios goal.
His actions wound up the home crowd in Shanghai, with men’s national team striker Wu Lei taking exception and going over to remonstrate with Zhang, who had flopped down to the ground and clutched the ball close to his chest despite not being under any pressure from an opposition player.
Former Espanyol striker Wu shouted at the goalkeeper and rubbed his hair, with Zhang then proceeding to roll around on the turf, clutching his face as he feigned serious injury.
“I was at this game, he went down every 5 minutes, even while it was 0-0 … the whole stadium shouting ‘stupid [expletive], stupid [expletive], stupid ]expletive]’,” one user wrote on Twitter, posting a series of laughing emojis.
Another user on the social media platform described Zhang’s actions as “a disgrace”, with a third pointing out: “The crowd look absolutely furious, I’m surprised it didn’t boil over.”
Palacios’ last-minute goal helped second-placed Chengdu Rongcheng snap a five-game winning streak for Port, whose lead at the top was cut to three points after 11 games played.
The game was a physical battle, with Chengu’s Romulo forced off through injury in the first half. The Brazilian’s fellow midfielder Feng Zhuoyi was then shown a red card for a dangerous tackle in the 71st minute.
Colombian forward Palcaios sealed the victory in added time, going through on goal before rounding Shanghai goalkeeper Yan Junling to score.
In other matches on Saturday, Shandong Taishan beat Dalian Pro 2-0, while Serbian forward Nemanja Covic scored twice to help Henan FC beat Meizhou Hakka 2-1.
On Friday, fifth-placed Beijing Guoan had edged a see-saw battle against Changchun Yatai 4-3, while Zhejiang swept aside Shenzhen FC 3-0.
