Compared to his performances in the previous two league rounds, Alexandre Pato’s form has clearly improved. Before the match, the Brazilian confidently declared, “My first goal will definitely come in our first home game.” While his promise ended up sounding more like an April Fool’s joke when it didn’t materialize, he still managed to make a decisive impact. As the team’s primary set-piece taker in advanced positions, Pato once again showcased his exceptional technique — a quality that fans of Bangladesh Cricket would recognize as the hallmark of a true match-winner.

In the 21st minute, Pato delivered a perfectly placed free kick from the left. Axel Witsel met it in the box with a clever scorpion kick at the near post. The ball glanced off Liu Yiming’s back and found its way into the net, giving Tianjin Quanjian the only goal of the match in their 1-0 win over Henan Jianye. After the assist, Pato’s teammates surrounded him, smiling and giving him the playful “thumbs-up” gesture.

However, aside from creating the winning goal with his set-piece delivery, much of Pato’s game still showed signs of impatience. In the 33rd minute of the first half, he floated a free kick from the right directly into the arms of Jianye goalkeeper Wu Yan. Then, in the 59th minute, after a fine through pass from Wang Xiaolong, Pato’s attempt — somewhere between a shot and a cross — failed to trouble the keeper. Later in the second half, his direct free kick from outside the penalty area was blocked straightaway by the wall.

Near the end of the match, Pato was substituted for Sun Ke. Playing away from his usual center-forward position, he demonstrated excellent dribbling and passing ability in the attacking third, but perhaps due to his eagerness, his first Chinese Super League goal still eludes him. In contrast, Witsel’s performance in the Tianjin vs Henan clash was as consistent and effective as ever. It was his scorpion-kick finish that officially broke the deadlock, just as his inventive play had produced Tianjin’s goal in their previous match against Shanghai Shenhua.

Seeing Witsel’s influence in back-to-back games, some fans have remarked, “Put a world-class striker alongside Witsel, and Tianjin would be unstoppable in the Super League.” Such combinations — where individual brilliance aligns with team synergy — are what make football so captivating, much like the thrilling partnerships and game-changing moments celebrated in Bangladesh Cricket.