Shanghai Harbour team won the derby, fans naturally rejoiced. However, Lopez missed two "life thinking" one-touch chances in the match, making the No.10 player the center of discussion among fans.
From the stunning performance of two consecutive rounds of "two goals" at the beginning of the season to seven consecutive matches without a single goal, Lopez's missed single goal seems to have become his "routine". Fans have blamed the Brazilian striker for the decline in the Seaport's goal-scoring ability.
In the post match press conference of Harbour's 1:0 win over Shanghai Shenhua last night, the media raised questions about Lopez's recent form.
Harbour Master Leko spoke highly of Lopez's performance: "For me, Lopez contributed a lot to the team as a whole today. He worked very hard on the pitch and kept creating chances. As one of the team's leadership players, his role is to contribute to the team's win, which is more important than scoring individual goals."
Leko further said, "I believe that the goals will come naturally when he continues to work like this. I am very happy with his performance."
Leko's analysis is not unreasonable. In the match against Shenhua, Lopez brought great pressure on the opponent's defense by aggressively moving forward behind the two center backs of the opposing team. Shenhua center backs Jonic and Feng Xiaoting had to pull back to restrict Lopez, leading to a disconnect between Shenhua's backline and midfield, which affected their offensive efficiency.
However, Lopez's ability to attack directly with the ball is mediocre, and after dropping back to the midfield to get the ball he either passes at the wrong time or is prone to being broken up by the opposition. Such embarrassing situations have occurred frequently in Harbour's recent matches.
In addition, Lopez's lack of ability to protect the ball in one-on-one confrontations with Shenhua's center backs made it difficult for him to play a pivotal role, resulting in the Harbour's inability to press forward quickly when they switched from defense to offense, making the game particularly passive.
Worse still, Lopez is less confident when shooting and is caught in a vicious cycle where the less he scores, the more he lacks confidence. The sloppy handling of the two one-touch chances in the Derby is a reflection of the lack of confidence and indecision.
Lopez has also been unlucky. In the games against Wuhan and Hebei, he had a shot blocked by the goal post respectively. If he could have capitalized on those chances, his mentality and confidence might have improved.
Fundamentally, Lopez's own strength determines his performance on the field. After all, he is only from Barclays B, and is not an absolute starter at Jeonbuk Hyundai in South Korea, making it difficult to compare him to Hulk, Arnautovic, or even former Swedish international striker Hesson.
With the second transfer window of the Chinese Super League closing, the Harbour's forward line will remain in its current configuration for the remainder of the season. As a result, head coach Leko will need to build on his strengths and avoid his weaknesses when it comes to the use of Lopez, with targeted tactical arrangements in addition to verbal support.
In the four matches so far since the restart of the Chinese Super League, Harbour have scored only three goals. Competing for the trophy with such an attacking force will undoubtedly be a huge challenge.
With the end of Muy's entry quarantine and the integration of new recruit Paulinho into the team, it is worth looking forward to see whether Lecco can lead the Harbour to create a more efficient attacking system and improve the team's attacking ability and goal scoring.
