AFC
Head coach Choi Kang-hee had anticipated difficulties for his injury-hit squad but they shrugged off the absence of Giovanni Moreno and Kim Shin-wook, ending a 15-match winless streak in the competition with goals from Peng Xinli and Yu Hanchao.
Perth, who pulled a goal back in the final 10 minutes through Jonathan Aspropotamitis, are now winless in two outings, giving them little margin for error in the remaining four matches of their maiden group stage appearance.
Appearing at Education City Stadium for the first time, a youthful Perth side were given an early lesson when Shanghai Shenhua opened the scoring through Peng in the seventh minute.
Zhu Jianrong was the architect, finding space down the left-hand side and teeing up Peng, who picked out the bottom corner of Tando Velaphi’s net in a fine move which took full advantage of some loose defending from the Australians.
Appearing in a competitive fixture for the first time since August, Perth grew into the game and managed to compete well with their match-hardened opponents, keeping the bulk of possession and occasionally hinting at danger in the final third.
But that counted for little when Shenhua’s second goal arrived seven minutes before half-time, with veteran Chinese international Yu playing a neat one-two with Peng before squeezing the ball beneath the clutches of Velaphi, who won’t be rushing to see a replay in what was a poor effort to keep the ball out.
Staring down the barrel of a second successive defeat in the competition, Perth Glory emerged from the half-time break with a point to prove, and they conjured their best chance of the match to that point via Bruno Fornaroli in the 51st minute, only for the Uruguayan ace to send his shot directly into the path of goalkeeper Li Shaui.
With Shenhua’s defensive lynchpin Stephane M’Bia substituted, Perth continued to probe for a first ever AFC Champions League goal, and they found it when Aspropotamitis slammed the ball into the roof of the net in the 81st minute, giving the Australians a lifeline after Li had spilled Carlo Armiento’s initial effort.
Perth now sensed the opportunity to claim their first point in the competition, but Choi’s charges stood firm, navigating a tricky finale to emerge with their first group stage win since 2009, and a vital first step in their 2020 campaign.
Shanghai Shenhua will continue their Group F bid against Ulsan Hyundai on Saturday, with Perth to face the Korean side three days later.