Frontale needed only three minutes to find the back of the net after Yusuke Segawa’s shot came back off Shandong goalkeeper Wang Dalei with Marcinho pouncing and give Oniki’s side the start that they wanted.

Shandong made their presence felt in the 12th minute after a swift attacking move saw Valeri Qazaishvili sending a well-timed through ball to Xie Wenneng, who forced a save from Frontale keeper Jung Sung-ryong.

The Chinese Super League side were almost caught out again in the 17th minute after Segawa set up So Kawahara at the top of the area, but the midfielder’s deflected shot was palmed away by Dalei.

Shandong emerged unscathed after Frontale launched a barrage of shots in the 24th minute, with blocks on attempts by Wenneng and Yu Kobayashi, followed by Dalei deflecting Sai van Wermeskerken’s low shot.

Frontale almost paid the price in the 36th minute for a loose back pass by Sota Miura that left Zeca unmarked inside the six-yard-box but Jung Sung-ryong was in top form to deflect the Brazilian’s shot against the woodwork before pulling off a fine save to deny Li Yuanyi.

The J1 League side doubled their lead in the 41st minute after Yamamoto bent an exquisite free-kick around the Shandong wall and slid it past Dalei at the near post.

Frontale continued to probe the Shandong’s defence in the second half and their efforts were rewarded in the 65th minute after Jesiel rose highest to plant Yamamoto’s delivery into the bottom left corner. 

Shandong came close a minute later with Zeca setting Wenneng free inside the box but Jung Sung-ryong stayed firm to deny the midfielder but Kawasaki netted the fourth in the 90th minute with substitutes Soma Kanda and Yamada combining with the latter finishing off from close range to seal the emphatic victory.