China got off a a rip-roaring start in its 2007 Asian Cup campaign by pounding joint-hosts Malaysia 5-1 on their own turf last night. Despite a less than perfect build up to the games, including a downright miserable defeat to unfancied Thailand, China swept aside their opponents in a manner few Chinese fans would have dared to imagine before the Asian Cup kicked off. Shandong Luneng striker Han Peng netted a double, midfielder Shao Jiayi,......

Xiamen Lions travel north tonight to take on Shanghai Shenhua with the home side hoping to put their Asian Champions League woes behind them and get back to the mini-run of form they have enjoyed of late in the CSL. Seasoned observers of Chinese football have been left scratching their heads at at the somewhat schizophrenic character of the two-time Chinese champions this season. The much publicised merger of Shenhua and Shanghai United has created......

Shanghai Shenhua finally got their season underway with their first victory of 2007 — against none other than last year's runaway CSL champions, Shandong Luneng Sunday afternoon. Following opening day disappointment against Beijing, and a defeat to Sydney FC in the Asian Champions League, the Shanghai side battled to a 1-0 win at Yuanshen Stadium. It was a huge game for Shenhua and a near-capacity crowd basked in the Pudong sunshine. A relatively large away......

There are a lot of tempting events coming up this weekend. But please don't invite us, we're saving up for Kenny G. On Friday night, Beijing indie rock band Sound Fragment comes to 4Live, inheritor of the old Tang Hui bar, to promote their new album. Opening for them is Shanghai band Banana Monkey (don't ask, we don't know). 4Live is the place for rock these days, bringing both national and international acts on a......

Shanghai Shenhua's troubled start to their 2007 campaign continued Wednesday night at Yuanshen Stadium in Pudong after they slipped to a 2-1 defeat to A-League side Sydney FC in the Asian Champions League. Yesterday, an Australian newspaper wrote complete and utter bullshit about Shenhua being called "The Shanghai Thugs" because one, yes, just one, of their squad was involved in the Chinese Olympic Team fracas against QPR a few weeks ago. And who exactly did......

Shanghai Shenhua bid farewell to Hongkou Stadium until the 2008 season with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against their old foes, Dalian Shide, yesterday afternoon. Normally this game is a title decider between China's two preeminent domestic footballing powers. But on a hot October afternoon both teams were just playing for pride after Shandong Luneng steamrollered their way to their second-ever CSL title at the end of August. The game was not a patch on the......

China's biggest football bad boys, Xian, come to town tonight to take on Shanghai Shenhua in a CSL clash with more complex plot twists than a tornado ripping across your granddad's allotment. The Terracotta Army City, famed in the world of Chinese football for being home to the craziest and rowdiest fans in the land, is something of a hotbed of football hooliganism, having been the scene of several riots in the past. Referee's attacked,......