The first round of the Super League play-offs kicked off in the late afternoon of January 8, with Dalian and Chengdu Rongcheng in the spotlight. At the pre-match press conference, Chengdu Rongcheng head coach Xu Zhengyuan appeared together with his player Gan Rui.
Facing the upcoming match, Xu Zhengyuan revealed, "After the fourth stage of rest and recuperation, our preparation is quite good." Gan Rui added, "We had nearly two weeks of adjustment time, and after returning to Chengdu, we made comprehensive adjustments not only physically, but also psychologically, and the players felt well-prepared for the game, with preparations in place in all aspects."
Talking about the team's injury situation, Xu Zhengyuan said, "The main injury is Li Jianbin, although his recovery is good, but I think we still need to observe for a period of time."
Referring to the bitterly cold climate of Suzhou, Xu Zhengyuan responded, "This is the first race of the season in winter, but in terms of climate conditions, Suzhou is comparable to Chengdu."
For the team's offensive firepower, Xu Zhengyuan is full of confidence: "Football games cannot be exactly the same every game, and we will adopt different strategies when facing different opponents. In the Central League, we are the best team at scoring goals, and I believe our offensive line can play well in the play-offs."
Talking about the opponent Dalian, Xu Zhengyuan commented: "Dalian is a team with outstanding strength and has changed a lot this season. Although they were not ranked high at the beginning, their players showed good athleticism in the second phase of the game. I've been following their starting eleven and every one of them is a good player. These two play-off games are bound to be challenging and Dalian have their shortcomings. As long as we are united, I believe we can achieve excellent results and return to Chengdu with the joy of victory."
