On the night of May 10th, Wuhan failed to get their first win of the season in the 4th round of the Chinese Super League (CSL), going down 0-2 to Beijing Guoan at the Suzhou Sports Center, despite giving it their all. With this round of matches over, Wuhan finished 14th in the league, just one point ahead of second-to-last Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, despite having played one more game. After the game, head coach Li Xiaopeng said, "Four rounds without a win is indeed under pressure, but I firmly believe that the team will rebound after overcoming the difficulties." Li Xiaopeng also believes that the game against Guoan was the best game Wuhan has played so far.
Defensive Changes Hard to Stop Goals
Facing the powerful Beijing Guoan team, Wuhan's coaching team is still cautious in the formation, sticking to the tactics of defensive counterattack. Li Xiaopeng made a big adjustment to the starting lineup: Mbia and Carrizo, two foreigners, acted as double center backs, and the backs were partnered by Ye Chongqiu and Tian Yinong, with the intention of blocking Guoan's attack in the middle of the field. At the same time, Li Xing was promoted from the back to the front, standing behind the center forward Evra to provide support for him. The sides rely on the speed of Huang Zichang and Fang Hao. From the lining up, Li Xiaopeng obviously has a clear idea, hoping that through the high-intensity defense and fast counterattack, to shock the Guoan team, and strive for a victory.
However, the change in formation did not bring the expected results. Only 3 minutes after the start, Mbia due to a defensive error, tripped Zhang Yuning in the penalty area, gave the opponent a penalty kick. 0-1 down Wuhan tried to counterattack, Evra had a shot hit the post bounced out of the bottom line, nearly equalized the score. Bilic also said after the game, "the opening of the lead, the players on the contrary will not play, gave Wuhan more opportunities to attack."
In the second half, Wuhan replaced Fang Hao with Li Xingqi in an attempt to change the offense. As a result, only one minute into the second half, Bakambu scored another goal to extend the score to 2-0. Referring to conceding goals in the opening of the two halves, Li Xiaopeng also said helplessly, "The players' attention is still not focused enough."
Explore the potential of different players
After four rounds of matches, the Wuhan team coached by Li Xiaopeng has had a lot of ups and downs, except for the highlights of the first match against Hebei and the match against Shanghai Shenhua. Many fans who support the Wuhan team could not hold back their anxiety and raised many questions: why only Li Xingqi and Fang Hao were used in the U23 players; why Ajin was not played against Guoan, at least there was a pivot point in front of the field to fight for a little bit; and why Li Xing was not placed in the most threatening position at the back. ......
Fans who are concerned about Wuhan are genuinely happy for the team and hope that the team can get their first win of the season in advance. However, Wuhan is now facing a lot of practical difficulties, such as Li Chao, Yang Boyu, Liu Yun, etc. due to injury can not play, coupled with Baptiste Tang and Raphael in the first five rounds can not return to support, so Li Xiaopeng in the deployment of elasticity, and sometimes have to tear down the east wall to make up for the west wall. Talking about the pressure of four rounds of unbearable, Li Xiaopeng firmly believe that after this difficult period, the team will be better in the future.
Despite these unfavorable factors, Li Xiaopeng may be able to think differently. Whether it is Li Xingqi or Fang Hao out, the opponent will target this way of attack, why not try other U23 players? In addition, in the midfield, Wang Kai and other players also have a certain strength. 2019 season early, when the team did not have a center forward available, Guo Tianyu in the parties pushed into the starting lineup, and achieved a miraculous effect. Now, Li Xiaopeng may wish to try more, perhaps there will be unexpected gains.
Next, Wuhan will face Jinmen Tigers on May 17th. Currently, it is widely recognized that the Jinmen Tigers are the weakest of the 16 Chinese Super League teams in terms of overall strength, and this game may be the most promising match for Wuhan to get their first win of the season so far.
