As night falls, the 19th round of the Chinese Super League (CSL) resumes in Beijing on December 26th, with Guangzhou narrowly defeating Beijing Guoan 1-0. 41-year-old veteran Zheng Zhi, both executive manager and player, makes his debut and delivers a deadly direct shot to help Deng Hanwen set up the game just before halftime.
Guangzhou's revenge not only clears the shame of a one-goal loss in the first round of the second stage, but also puts them in second place in the Super League Champions League with a goal difference advantage over 38-point Shanghai Seaport. However, the focus was not on revenge, but on the fact that Zheng Zhi, the eight-time champion of the Chinese Super League, made his first appearance as a player in the Champions League, and delivered a key assist at a crucial moment.
Since Cannavaro said goodbye to the Guangzhou team at the end of September, Zheng Zhi quickly took over the heavy responsibility of "leading brother". From the beginning of the preparation to the official appointment, he to "executive manager" and the dual role of the player, to guide the team training and command the game, its performance has won the outside world unanimous praise. In the first four rounds of the game, Zheng Zhi, although with the team warm-up, but always did not wear the robe on the field.
Until the second round of the match with Guoan on the evening of the 26th, Zheng Zhi's No. 10 robe once again appeared in the starting list. This is the last round of the first phase of the Chinese Super League since he came on as a substitute for Qingdao, once again on behalf of the Guangzhou team, but also since he returned to the Chinese Super League after 231 days. His last start was against Cangzhou Lions on May 9, which was his only full Super League match of the season.
Zheng Zhi still plays at the back and is responsible for the team's offense and defense. Before he was substituted in the 61st minute, he had 45 chances to get the ball, with a passing success rate of 86% and a long pass accuracy of 80%. In the 11th minute, he received a pass from Zhong Yihao and got a chance to shoot in front of the penalty area, but was pounced on by Housen. In the 28th minute, he returned to the defense in time and managed to spoil Gao Tianyu's shot. Before the end of the half, he found Deng Hanwen with a direct ball from the center of the field, and the latter fired a low shot into the goal, which was the only goal of the match. In the 61st minute, Zheng Zhi was replaced and returned to the bench to continue directing the game as the "executive manager".
Talking about Zheng Zhi's appearance and performance, Guangzhou head coach Liu Zhiyu said: "Zheng Zhi has been eager to play although he is the executive head coach. In the previous games, we considered the team's midfield personnel and he was prepared as a substitute. For this game, we decided to start him after study and others prepare for a small rotation. This is also for tactical reasons."
Compared to the first round meeting with Guoan, Guangzhou controlled the pace of the game this time, and despite having slightly fewer shots on goal than their opponents, they led in the number of hits on target and collected goals. The team made targeted deployments based on the loss in the first round, reducing the opponents' chances of set-pieces in their own half of the field and strengthening the defense against overhead kicks. Young center back Wu Shaocong said that due to the sudden cooling of the weather on the day of the game, it rained a little, which had a certain impact on the players' play, but the team still carried out the pre-match deployment, and eventually won. According to Liu Zhiyu, the team fought until the last second and the performance deserved the victory.
After Shandong Taishan won the title three rounds ahead of schedule, Guangzhou will try to be the runner-up in the Chinese Super League in the next three league matches. Liu Zhiyu said that the subsequent matches will be set up differently according to different opponents, but it is not possible to think too much about it yet.
Text/Ye Hui
Editor/Fat Cat
