Super Eagles skipper, Mikel Obi, notched his first goal in almost six months as Tianjin Teda were beaten 4-2 by Shanghai Shenhua on game week 27 in the Chinese Super League on Sunday.
The ex-Chelsea star had not found the back of the net in a competitive game since the Clash with Guangzhou R&F on April 14 prior to today’s clash at Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium.
Giovanni Andres Moreno scored with a header to open the scoring for the visitors in the 14th minute, only for Mikel to restore parity eight minutes later.
A free-kick taken by Li Yuanyi was punched away by goalkeeper Li Shuai and the rebound fell to Ghanaian Frank Acheampong, whose shot was directed into the net by Mikel.
The Nigeria number ten was culpable for the second goal conceded by Tianjin Teda after he failed to clear the ball out of danger and Jianrong Zhu capitalized on the mistake to score.
With three rounds left to play in the Chinese Super League, Tianjin Teda are 14th on the 16-team table with 28 points.
The goal would certainly come as a huge boost for Gernot Rohr’s side ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier with South Africa.
