Stephan El Shaarawy scored a brace to help Shanghai Shenhua edge Dalian Yifang 3-2 in the semifinals of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) Cup on Monday.

It will be the sixth time that Shenhua have made it into the CFA Cup final and their third in five years.

Midfielder Marek Hamsik headed the ball home to open the scoring for Yifang but failed to maintain the lead for long as former AC Milan and Roma forward El Shaarawy helped Shenhua equalize to 1-1 eight minutes later.

The two-time defending champions continued with attacking momentum and El Shaarawy scored his second goal to put Shenhua 2-1 up just before the first half ended.

After the restart, Shenhua took the reins as Yifang struggled to take their chances. Brazilian Giovanni Moreno was substituted on in the 61st minute and slotted home only seven minutes later to put Shenhua up 3-1.

In the remaining minutes, Yifang threw men forward and saw a glimmer of hope after midfielder Zheng Long scored. However, Yifang failed to convert the chances for the equalizer before the final whistle.

Shenhua can now comfortably await the winner of the other semifinal between Shanghai SIPG and Shandong Luneng, which will be played on Tuesday.

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