In the 20th round of the Chinese Super League (CSL) match on the evening of July 26, Beijing Guoan was defeated by Shenzhen Xinpengcheng 0-1 on the road. After the match, Guoan head coach Ricardo Suarez attended the press conference and commented on the match, and elaborated on the impact of Zhang Xizhe's absence on the team as well as the reason why he was double-killed by Shenzhen Xinpengcheng this season.
On the loss, Ricardo Suarez said, "We came to the away game with the goal of getting 3 points, but unfortunately, we created a lot of chances in the game, but we were not able to capitalize on them. Our opponents, on the other hand, capitalized on a penalty kick opportunity and converted, which ultimately cost us the game. It is indeed a disappointing result, but we have to face up to the problems and learn from the defeat."
When asked if Zhang Xizhe's absence has caused the team's midfield to function poorly, Ricardo Suarez confessed, "Zhang Xizhe's absence does have a certain impact on the team's midfield, but our difficulties are not limited to this. The absence of Housen and Adebenelo, as well as Li Ke's poor physical condition, have affected our lineup. However, these are not excuses for our loss. Our players fought hard on the field today, but unfortunately, we were not able to capitalize on the chances we created, which was the key reason for our loss."
Regarding Beijing Guoan's double murder by Shenzhen Xinpengcheng this season, Ricardo Suarez said, "The two games do have some similarities, we both created a lot of chances in the game, but were not able to capitalize on them. The opponents, on the other hand, managed to score when they had penalty kick opportunities. This reflects that we are deficient in seizing chances. We need to seriously summarize the lessons learned from these two matches, identify the problem areas and improve them in future matches."
