On October 25th, Shandong Taishan got 3 points by defeating Incheon United 20:0 on the road. Head Coach Choi Kang-hee turned decay into magic and completely revitalized the injured Taesan team and stabilized Taesan's qualification to the maximum extent. In addition, the victory also made Taesan team more calm in the next round of match against Seaport.
undaunted by injuries and illnesses
Choi Kang-hee Turns Corruption into Magic
For South Korean coach Choi Kang-hee, it wasn't so easy to put out the ideal lineup for this round. In the AFC Champions League, which allows five foreigners to play at the same time, Taishan only have four foreigners - Fellaini, Kressan, Moises and Jadson - and Fellaini and Kressan have had varying degrees of injuries.
The more difficult the moments, the more Choi Kang-hee's old-fashioned way of doing things. Instead of starting all four foreigners, he stashed Cressan in the first half and sent in a heavy guard to defend the defense. Although Kichijo was injured in the opening 10 minutes, it didn't affect the big picture. Taishan tenaciously held on to the first half, creating several chances on goal through counterattacks.
After an energetic and energized first half, Kressan came on as a substitute in the second half, complemented by Liu Binbin's impact on the wing, and he was soon rewarded. In the 56th minute, Kressan's world breaking record from outside the box opened up for the first time.
After conceding the ball, Incheon United started a frequent offense. However, this onslaught lasted less than 10 minutes and the offensive dominance returned to Taesan. In the 87th minute, Fellaini killed the game with a low shot after receiving a pass from Cressan.
Choi Kang-hee used his men the way he did not only because of his knowledge of the Taesan team, but also because of his knowledge of Korean soccer. Facing a tough Incheon United team, Choi Kang-hee ruled hard by hard, and achieved victory by controlling the timing of the foreigners and wingers' impact points on the field, as well as the high level of competition in the second half of the stage.
save face
All Super League teams won this round
The night of the 25th was also a harvest night for the Super League teams. Zhejiang played in another match that kicked off at the same time with 22 points. :0 victory over the Japanese team Kofu Kazuhayashi. Calculating Wuhan's three towns 24 to 24 to 24 to 24 to 24 to 24. The three Chinese Super League teams that :beat Hanoi have won all their matches in this round.
After 12 years, Zhejiang finally won the AFC Champions League again. However, after getting 3 points, the team is still at the bottom of the group and the promotion situation is not optimistic. Wuhan Sanzhen won their first AFC Champions League game and finished second in the group with four points.
Compared to Wuhan Sanzhen and Zhejiang, Taishan's victory in this round is more valuable. Both Kofu-Fenglin and Hanoi are relatively weak in the group. Before the start of this round, Incheon United ranked first in the group with two consecutive victories, a strength that should not be underestimated.
Considering the strength of Taesan's opponents in the same group, if Taesan fails to win in the second round, the team's probability of advancing becomes very low. With 3 points, Taesan not only turned the tide, but also tied Incheon United and Yokohama Mariners by 6 points, and temporarily topped the group standings with their mutual winning relationship.
The first half of the group stage is now over. Except for Kaya, who failed by one point, the other three teams in Group G are back to the same starting line. However, the second half of the schedule is more favorable to Team Taishan. Besides Yokohama Mariners, Taishan played two other matches at home.
With the experience of defeating Incheon United on the road, Taesan will be more calm when they return home and are expected to double their opponents. Kaya is clearly not on the same level as the other three teams and will find it difficult to score points at Taesan's home ground. As long as Taesan win these two matches at home and get 12 points, the group qualification will not be a big problem.
All three teams won, which is good for the Premier League. In recent years, the Chinese Super League has performed poorly in the AFC Champions League, resulting in a drop in the league's AFC points. Now that the league as a whole is doing well, the teams participating in the AFC Champions League need to work hard to get every win and get back to the Premier League's position in the AFC Champions League.
hanging in the balance
More comfortable with the next round of highlights
According to the schedule, Taishan will travel to Shanghai to challenge Shanghai Harbor on the 29th, which is the last match of Taishan's three consecutive cross-country matches in ten days. Currently, Harbor is ranked first in the league with 59 points, five points higher than Taishan. With the last two rounds of the league left, Taishan can keep the suspense of the Super League title ownership until the end, even if they are unable to take the initiative to win the title after defeating their rivals.
Even so, Taishan didn't choose to focus on the highlights, but rather the elite showed the strength and hustle of a Chinese Super League team in the AFC Champions League. After this game, Taishan team can really face the harbor more calmly. But this calmness was not exchanged through the so-called efforts, but through the players' fight in the game.
Prior to the round, Fellaini posted a photo of a protective mask being made. But instead of using the mask, he ended up playing lightly. This also means that Fellaini has recovered from his injury much better than expected and will be able to play against Harbour.
There is nothing to worry about with Cressan. His form has clearly not been affected by the tongue injury as he contributed a goal and an assist in the game. He is expected to continue his form against Harbor.
Both injured players recovered better than expected and both became winners for Taishan, which was enough to allay fans' concerns. In addition, young player Xie Wen could not shy away from the AFC Champions League, and Fernando eventually came on as a substitute to create danger, giving the outside world a lot of confidence in Taishan's form in the next round
