FC Shandong's 2-3 home loss to Kawasaki Frontale in the first leg of the AFC Champions League Round of 16 was entertaining, and despite FC Shandong tying the game at one point in the second half, I think Kawasaki Frontale will be happy with their performance.
As I predicted before the match, Marciano is a dangerous player for Kawasaki Strikers. He is very fast and scares the defenders, so his blasting on the left side of the pitch is one of the team's major deployments, and he scored a header in the first leg. In addition, Allison, who is making his debut for the team, also gave a good performance, scoring a 12-yard goal, and seems to have the ability to be the main player in the front line of the team this season.
As for the midfield line, they also have Taito Wakizubo, Yuki Yamamoto and Akihiro Parental, so they have a number of players in the lineup who can keep possession of the ball at their feet as well as create chances for the strikers, and I believe that their chances of winning in the next round are quite strong.
However, FC Shantou also have a chance to win the match in Japan, as they caused a lot of problems in the second half of the first leg, and should have been able to get a draw.
Kawasaki Striker's style of play is not tough enough and their defense is not good enough to defend against crosses into their own penalty area, so I think FC Shandong should adopt this style of play in this match. I think FC Shandong should adopt this style of play in this match. They need to make hard tackles in the midfield and pass the ball to the side in order to attack the opponent's weaknesses.
The best chances for goals are likely to come from crosses delivered to goal scorer Kilisin. Also, if Kashashuvili gets some time on the ball, he will be a headache for Kawasaki Frontale's defenders.
