DALIAN, China, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Qingdao Huanghai survived the relegation fight in the Chinese Super League (CSL) after beating Wuhan Zall 7-5 through penalty shootout in the second leg in the playoffs here on Monday.
Three red cards and eight yellow ones demonstrates how cruel the game was. Zall beat Huanghai 2-1 in the first leg, and pocketed two victories in their second meeting in the first phase.
The winner can avoid relegation, while the loser has a more complicated and difficult path to stay in the first tier.
A long shot from Liu Yun helped Zall break the deadlock in the 16th minute. Zall's Song Zhiwei was sent off for elbowing Dejan Radonjic after referee viewed VAR. Huanghai equalized the score through Romain Alessandrini's direct free kick just two minutes later. Huanghai came from behind after Zhu Jianrong's goal in the 72nd minute.
Zall coaching staff was dissatisfied with some controversial refereeing decisions and caused disruption during the 90-minute game.
Huanghai's Wang Hao got two yellow cards and both teams had to play with ten men during the extra time.
Huanghai's Liu Jiashen got his second yellow card in the 114th minute and he was the third person to be sent off, but Huanghai managed to hold on the 2-1 scoreline.
In the penalty shootout, Zall's captain Yao Hanlin was first and only one missing in five rounds, which resulted in Zall's failure. Enditem