In the 20th round of the Chinese Super League (CSL) on July 26, Shanghai Seaport beat Nantong Zhiyun 8-1 at home, not only winning their 14th consecutive game of the season, but also creating the longest winning streak in the history of the CSL. After the match, Harbour striker Wu Lei was interviewed by Five Star Sports, sharing his thoughts on the team's new record, his personal performance and the status of his teammates.
Regarding the new record set by the team, Wu Lei maintained a humble attitude, saying, "This record is just the beginning, we can't be complacent about it. We need to keep working hard, game after game, to meet the challenges ahead. The game of soccer is always full of variables and we need to stay alert and keep improving ourselves."
Speaking about the head coach's expectations after the last game, Wu Lei revealed, "The head coach still pointed out the team's shortcomings in the game after the 5-0 win in the last game and hoped that we could improve further. Before this game, he kept emphasizing that we should have 'hunger' and give our best from the first minute. We did what he asked us to do, getting into the game quickly from the start and putting constant pressure on our opponents."
For his performance in the game, Wu Lei expressed his satisfaction: "I think everyone did a good job today, we got into the mood at the start and scored quickly. After the goal we did not relax and continued to create pressure on the opponent. This is what I should do as a player and what the coach has been asking for."
Regarding his performance of assisting and then scoring in the game, Wu Lei said he didn't feel anxious because he didn't score at the beginning: "I am more concerned about the overall performance of the team. The situation now is that we need to work together to get a good result at the end of the league. As for individual goals, of course the more the better, but more important is the team's victory."
In addition, Wu Lei also talked about the healthy competition with teammate Gustavo: "There is no competition between us, we are all working hard for the team's victory. Gustavo's form is very good, and his successive goals are a great help to the team. We're getting better and better together, and he's doing a great job at center forward, not only scoring goals, but also playing a good pivot role in the game."
Finally, Wu Lei revealed what the head coach said in the locker room, "The head coach emphasized again that we have to keep 'hunger' because there are still a lot of matches behind us, and the opponents won't let us win easily. We need to work hard on ourselves to win every game."
