Senegalese forward Demba Ba missed a crucial penalty kick in the opening minutes of the 2016 Chinese Super League season's first Shanghai derby as his Greenland Shenhua settled for a 1-1 draw against last season's runner-up finishers SIPG at the Shanghai Stadium last Friday.

The Blue Devils were off to a highly aggressive start to the match as team captain Giovanni Moreno opened the scoring with only seven minutes passing the game's kickoff via a brilliant header off an assist by 6-foot-1 midfielder Qin Sheng.

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Head coach Gregorio Manzano's boys could have doubled the lead at the 14th-minute mark if only the 30-year-old Ba had successfully netted his penalty kick from a foul by Red Eagles Wang Yuanchao, as reported by Shanghai Daily.

However, Ba missed the shot "way off the post" as Sven-Göran Eriksson's side was given a chance to tie the score and avoid a second consecutive loss in the new China top flight season.

SIPG eventually equalized the game two minutes before the halftime break with a goal from defensive midfielder Cai Huikang from a rebound play off a close range shot by former Guangzhou Evergrande striker Elkeson, via Soccerway.

The two teams went scoreless in the second half as both defenses began to lock in to their designated patterns.

Manzano was reportedly satisfied about his team's performance, saying that Shenhua "managed to control the first half, on both attack and defense" and that he is "happy" with his players "though the result is a bit disappointing".

Meanwhile, Manzano's 68-year-old counterpart, Eriksson, is not a bit pleased with his squad's game.

"We are not happy that we didn't win today," the former England national team manager said. "The players were not in the game during the opening 20 minutes. Then we were lucky (when Shenhua missed the penalty), and the team were playing better in the second half, but didn't create enough chances."

"We are not 100 percent yet. The team has to do better," he added.

TagsChinese Super League, 2016 Chinese Super League, China Football, Shanghai SIPG FC, Shanghai Greenland Shenhua FC