“First game for over two months. I've not been able to give some players 90 minutes because we've been a little late getting some defenders in. All things considered, the team did really well,” said Holland. “The game became quite transitional at times, end to end which wasn't in our favour given that we were leading. 

“I think what the team did better in the second half, we played with more structure to control the defensive transition. In the end, we had to deal with a lot of long balls which we dealt with pretty well. So I'm very happy with the team since this is our first competitive game in a long time.”

Shenhua head coach Leonid Slutskiy was left frustrated by his team’s inability to capitalise on a strong first half.

“It's a very painful defeat. I think in the first half we controlled the game and created chances. We had some moments and we made simple mistakes. We conceded the goal but continued to play quite well,” said Slutskiy. 

“At half time, we spoke about needing to continue to play how we did and keep creating chances but unfortunately in the last 15 minutes, we didn't have the energy to keep going and be effective. We still have a chance and we will try our best in the last game to qualify.”

Shenhua, on seven points, will host Japanese outfit Vissel Kobe on Matchday 8, while Yokohama travel to face China PR’s Shanghai Port.