September 5: Guoan’s Two-Goal Lead Was Erased in FA Cup, 35-Year-Old Zhang Xizhe Controls Tempo and Shows Veteran Value with Stoppage-Time Winner

The sixth round of the 2026 Chinese FA Cup was held at Beijing Workers' Stadium, where Beijing Guoan faced China League Two side Lanzhou Longyuan Athletic, with both teams fielding all-domestic lineups.

By the middle of the third quarter of the match, or the 62nd minute of normal time, Guoan had already extended the score to 2-0 through Zhang Yuning's goal and several earlier sequences of quick passing. The situation appeared completely under the control of the Chinese Super League side. During this period, Guoan's defense did not allow the opponents many clear chances at goal, while Zhang Xizhe directed play from the center of midfield, consistently delivering the ball into comfortable receiving areas for teammates. There were almost no obvious breaks between the wings and central areas, and many fans in the stands had already started thinking about the next round. The cheers at Workers' Stadium carried a sense of calm confidence.

Looking back, Guoan's two-goal advantage was not built by chance. More than 20 minutes earlier, Zhang Xizhe sent a precise through ball from midfield that split Lanzhou's defense, allowing young player Deng Jiefu to make a well-timed run, go one-on-one, and score his first goal for Guoan's senior team.

That move was a perfect example of an experienced player creating opportunities for a younger teammate through vision and experience. Before receiving the ball, Zhang Xizhe had already spotted the space behind the defense, and his pass was weighted perfectly between the opposing center-back and full-back, avoiding offside while making it difficult for the goalkeeper to close down early.

Zhang Yuning's later goal also came from a second-phase attack after continuous midfield passing. Guoan players' movements did not overlap, and every step of receiving, turning, and distributing the ball was executed at the right tempo. Although Lanzhou competed aggressively, the difference in squad depth and match experience meant they spent a long period relying on frequent defensive retreats to stay organized.

The first clear warning sign came in the 67th minute. After going 2-0 ahead, Guoan's passing tempo began to slow unconsciously. Their pressing line, previously near the halfway line, gradually dropped toward the 30-meter area, and several midfielders covered noticeably less ground than in the first hour.

Lanzhou took advantage of this period by repeatedly delivering crosses from the flanks to win corners. After their first corner was cleared, they completed a second attack with a long-range shot from outside the box that went narrowly wide. Although it did not result in a goal, it showed Guoan's defense had begun to loosen, and the midfield coverage previously driven by Zhang Xizhe had left significant gaps as the team's overall tempo dropped.

Lanzhou's coaching staff did not ignore the signal. Instead of continuing to sit deep, they made two clear adjustments: introducing a more explosive wide player and pulling their previously advanced striker deeper to create more midfield support points, using repeated horizontal passes and quick switches to stretch Guoan's defensive structure.

Over the following minutes, the situation changed quickly. Through repeated lateral passing, Lanzhou found more receiving spaces between Guoan's two defensive lines. Their combinations, which had initially looked less refined, became increasingly smooth as Guoan's overall movement slowed.

In the 78th minute, Lanzhou broke down the flank and pulled the ball back into the box, where an arriving player finished to make it 1-2. After the goal, Guoan had to move away from their previous control-oriented approach and speed up their attack again. However, the team's physical condition had clearly declined, passing errors increased, and Zhang Xizhe's midfield organization could no longer produce penetrating passes as frequently because teammates around him were making fewer supporting runs.

Riding the momentum from their goal, Lanzhou continued with high pressing. Every challenge was more determined than before, and Guoan's passing space became increasingly limited. In the 86th minute, Lanzhou won the ball high up the pitch and launched a quick counterattack, scoring again to make it 2-2.

At that point, the balance of the match had completely shifted. The change from a 2-0 lead to a 2-2 draw was not caused by one player suddenly losing composure, but by a series of observable developments: Guoan reduced their pressing intensity after taking a big lead and made fewer off-ball runs, allowing the previously suppressed opponent to regain passing rhythm; Lanzhou increased midfield support through substitutions and used continuous lateral movement to wear down Guoan's defensive mobility, gradually reclaiming the spaces that had belonged to Guoan.

As the match entered its final minutes of normal time, everyone on the pitch understood that conceding again could mean losing this single-elimination FA Cup match.

At the most difficult stage, Guoan did not blindly follow the opponent's frantic rhythm. Instead, they put possession back in Zhang Xizhe's hands. After receiving the ball in midfield, he stopped chasing risky through passes and first stabilized the tempo, using several short passing moves to help the team regain composure.

In stoppage time, Cao Yongjing seized his chance inside the penalty area to put Guoan back ahead. The move again started with several stable midfield passes, without flashy actions, with every pass choosing the safest route. When the final whistle sounded, Guoan advanced thanks to the stoppage-time goal and avoided turning a 2-0 lead into a defeat.

At the post-match press conference, Guoan head coach Montgomery again highlighted Zhang Xizhe's importance, saying the 35-year-old captain remained one of the team's most trusted players and that his creativity and match experience helped the team maintain its foundation during the most chaotic moments.

From his first appearance for Guoan in the Chinese Super League in 2009, to later surpassing Tao Wei to score the club's 41st CSL goal in history, and then scoring in the CSL for 14 consecutive seasons, Zhang Xizhe's long career has never been built on a single moment of inspiration.

His value on the pitch is not only in providing brilliant passes or scoring important goals. It is also in his ability to hold and distribute the ball in the simplest way when the team's rhythm breaks down, showing younger teammates that a match can still be recovered step by step.

Looking back, this match, which went from 2-2 to a late Guoan victory, was not a miracle script. Guoan lost their advantage after going 2-0 up because of looseness in physical management and tempo control, while their midfield coverage advantage was gradually erased as the team's running intensity declined. Lanzhou's comeback was not simply due to so-called fighting spirit, but to timely substitutions by the coaching staff and players fully carrying out simple passing and wing-attack tactics from start to finish.

Guoan's ability to regain control in the final moments was not merely luck. In the most chaotic period, some players continued doing the basics: keeping possession, choosing reliable passing lanes, and maintaining quality in every exchange. For long-time football fans, the most memorable part of such a match is not the dramatic score reversal, but seeing clearly how an advantage is gradually lost and then recovered through solid tactical execution.

Young players can learn far more from such a match than a single shot or run. They can see that a veteran player at this stage of his career can still rely on the most fundamental skills to bring a game back onto a familiar path during the most tense moments.