July 15, 19:20 The 14th round of the 23rd season of the Central League ushered in a key battle: Qingdao West Coast vs Guangzhou.
Relegated to China A at the end of last season, Guangzhou was once the dominant force in the Chinese Super League, winning the AFC Champions League twice. Qingdao West Coast is a newcomer to professional soccer in China. in 2022, the team played in the China A League for the first time in its history.
In the pre-match China League One standings, Qingdao West Coast ranked fifth with 6 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses in 13 matches, 5 points behind table-topping Guangxi Pingguo and 3 points behind Sichuan Jiuniu, with the theoretical hope of overtaking the league. Guangzhou 13 games 4 wins, 4 draws, 5 losses 16 points ranked tenth, 11 points higher than the relegation zone Shanghai Jiading Huilong. Theoretically, after being relegated from Super League to Central League, it should not be relegated from Central League to Central League B.
When dominating the CSL and AFC Champions League, Guangzhou's squad was mainly local internationals + top foreigners, now it's all youngsters from Evergrande's soccer academy. At the beginning of this season, Guangzhou had a hard time winning for a long time. After 3 draws and 5 losses in the first eight rounds, it ushered in its first win of the season by beating Dongguan Guanlian on the road in the ninth round 2.:1. Since then, it has seen a strong rebound. From round 10 to round 13, it went undefeated with three wins and a draw, and won three consecutive games in the last three rounds. If we keep this momentum going, at the end of the season, Guangzhou will be back in the Super League, 12 points behind Guangxi Pingguo, which is a four-game gap.
Let's take a look at the starting lineup for the Qingdao West Coast vs Guangzhou game.
Guangzhou starting formation 451, forward line single arrow Ling Jie, forward Wang Shijie, Bugrakhan Skandanar, Yang Hao, double back Hou Yu, Zhang Zili, four backs Abdulwahab, Liu Langzhou, Wang Wenxuan, Feng Yifan, goalkeeper Huo Shenping. The starting 11 is worth a total of 385,000 euros. The average age is 20.6 years old. Efirdin returned from abroad and sat on the bench.
Center forward Wesley, midfielders Lei Wenjie, Guo Yi, Juan Ramirez, Feng Gang, Chen Bailiang, four defenders and Xiaoqiang, Ge Zhen, Liu Pujin, Huang Jiaqiang, goalkeeper Wang Qi, Qingdao West Coast starting 451 formation. The total value of the starting eleven was 1.175 million euros.
As the game began, it was clear that the Everest Soccer School's youth army was at a disadvantage.
In the 13th minute, Ramirez took a shot, which was blocked by the goalkeeper and then bounced into the goal on Wang Wenxuan's foot.00 Guangzhou: 1 down to Qingdao West Coast.
In the 37th minute, the bottom pass from the left side of Qingdao West Coast was followed up by Ramirez in the middle who managed to score. Qingdao West Coast 2:0 Guangzhou.
Ling Jie took the ball from the left and passed it wonderfully to the penalty area in the 40th minute, and Bugra Khan succeeded in his header. Guangzhou 1:2 Qingdao West Coast.
In the 43rd minute, Ramirez took a teammate's pass from the right side of the box and hit the ball, which was parried by the goalkeeper, again. As a result, he scored on Wesley's head. Qingdao West Coast 3:1 Guangzhou.
Wang Wenxuan's handball in the box was hit by Ramirez in the 78th minute, Qingdao West Coast 44:1 Guangzhou.
Throughout extra time, Efirdin scored a penalty and Guangzhou fell to Qingdao West Coast 2:4.
After a battle, Qingdao West Coast moved up to second in the Central League table with 26 points from 14 matches and entered the super zone. It is 2 points behind the top of the table Guangxi Pingguo in the first round. Guangzhou is still ranked tenth with 16 points from 14 battles. It is obviously unrealistic to return to the Chinese Super League this season, but it won't be relegated to the Chinese B either.
