In the seventh round of the Chinese Super League (CSL), Shandong Luneng faced Cangzhou Lions at their home stadium. At first, everyone thought that Shandong Luneng's sluggish performance this season would continue with Cangzhou Lions and it would be difficult to get three points. However, surprisingly, Shandong Luneng swept away the gloom and defeated Cangzhou Lions at home by a score of 4:1, once again demonstrating the strength of the Chinese Super League veteran team.
Shandong Luneng was able to beat Cangzhou Lions at home without the contribution of an ace player up front. This player is not Kazaishvili, nor Li Yuanyi or Jadason, but Fernando, a naturalized international player who has returned strongly this season.
Since the new season, Fernando's overall competitive status has taken a qualitative leap compared to the previous seasons. In the past, due to injuries, Fernando could only finish half of the game at most, and most of the time he was on the bench; but now, Fernando not only gets more chances on the field, but even plays the whole game in many games. This fully proves that Fernando has been reborn with fire.
In this crucial battle, Fernando once again became the key man of Shandong Luneng. In the 21st minute of the first half, Wang Dalei launched a counterattack with a long pass, Fernando passed accurately across the field, and the talented starlet Abdul Meat Suli went all out to complete the goal. Although Fernando himself did not score, his key assist played a decisive role. Without his precise cross, how could Abdulsalam get such a chance to score?
Near the end of the first half, Shandong Luneng added another goal. In the next city, Liu Yang was kicked down in the penalty area. Fernando was given the chance to take the penalty kick. Facing the pressure, Fernando, who has excellent footwork and a cool head, resisted the pressure and easily scored the penalty, locking in the third goal for Shandong Luneng. Fernando's performance in terms of goals and assists was perfect.
Fernando's full-blown breakout in the Chinese Super League has pleased both Luneng coach Choi Kang-hee and Italian coach Ivankovic. Fernando's form has been holding up quite well, which is the biggest joy for the national soccer team at the moment. Not only was Fernando called up for the national soccer team's last World Cup qualifying match, but he also put up amazing numbers. As long as Fernando stays healthy, he will undoubtedly continue to be called up by the national team for the World Cup qualifiers in June. Right now, what Ivankovic is most looking forward to is for Fernando to continue to play at a high level in the Chinese Super League and to keep his physical game stable and not slip. From the performance of these four games, Fernando's form has almost been resurrected with blood. This kind of Fernando is undoubtedly the biggest "killer app" of the national football team to win. In the match with Thailand men's soccer team in June, with Fernando such a full of creativity and lethality "killer app", why can't the national soccer team laugh in the end?
