Luiz Felipe Scolari was upbeat despite seeing his Guangzhou Evergrande side held to a 1-1 draw by Jiangsu Suning on home soil in the first leg of the CFA Cup final on Sunday as the Chinese Super League champions aim to complete a domestic double for the second time in five seasons.
Ricardo Goulart gave Guangzhou the lead just nine minutes into the first leg before Alex Teixeira levelled 19 minutes after the break with a header for the reigning CFA Cup holders, who will host the second leg in Nanjing next week.
"This was a very entertaining, high quality match and I'm satisfied with my players," Scolari said. "A 1-1 draw is not a bad result and we can claim the title if we win the away game.
"Both teams are strong with good players in every position. A sudden change or an unexpected situation is possible in the game. This is a normal scoreline for an encounter between two strong sides."
Guangzhou, who previously completed the double in 2012, had gone into the game as favourites despite the absence of defensive duo Feng Xiaoting and Kim Young-gwon. Feng will be available next week after serving a one game ban, but Scolari believes his side are not guaranteed to win the trophy based on their reputation and previous success.
"We are the Chinese Super League title holders, so naturally people will think we have a great chance to win the CFA Cup," he said. "However, Jiangsu have been a finalist in each of the last three years and for a national derby like this, even if we are playing at home, any result is possible.
"If you only look at the stats of this match, we are better than last year. Winning a league title is an outcome of a long-term campaign within which a team can have its ups and downs."
Scolari's Jiangsu counterpart, South Korean Choi Yong-Soo, was disappointed with the result but stressed his team would push for victory in the second leg despite holding a narrow advantage thanks to Teixeira's away goal.
"We were here for the win, so there's nothing to be happy about as we only got a draw," he said. "We expected it to be a difficult match. The atmosphere at Tianhe is always horrible for the visiting team.
"In the first half my players were too nervous and didn't play their best. In the break, I told them not to be intimidated and they were much better. We will fight for the win once we're at home.
"We can't let Evergrande win the title at our home. We can't let it happen."