Compared to the regrets of the last time we hosted Yokohama (missed chances were frequent), this matchup is full of helplessness and dumbfoundedness.
Mateusz left the field with an injury, and Masakatsu Nagai was again ejected with a red card early in the second half. With this, Shandong almost lost their fighting spirit in Yokohama and were unable to show their full numerical superiority on the pitch.
The team's "strolling" offense and the eye-popping shots were repeatedly countered by Yokohama's high-level counterattacks. Even Wang Dalei, who has been shining many times, could not resist Lopez's brilliant header.
In the second half, the overall rhythm of Shandong Taishan's offense, if dressed in red, almost comparable to the national team...
Against the two Japanese teams, highly-regarded South Korean coach Choi Kang-hee showed very different tactical command.
Especially in this game, the use of "problem players" Wu Xinghan, his previous form in the Central League slump, not only led to the team lost points, defensive errors also indirectly led to teammates were sentenced to red card...
He's made two appearances in the AFC Champions League this year, the last one a stoppage time error that led to a corner being given away and a missed man... How difficult is it to make a mistake like that?
After the match, Wu Xinghan was unsurprisingly slammed by the fans, alas... Why didn't Chen Pu switch on to score?
Despite this, Shandong still maintains the best record in the AFC Champions League in terms of draws, as the lone player in the Chinese Super League, especially with the stunning away reversal of Kawasaki in the last round.
To be fair, in terms of the current overall situation, whether it is the club or the national team, there is a considerable gap between us and Japan.
However, when will the Chinese team make another run at the quarterfinals of the AFC Champions League... (the last quarterfinals was Evergrande in 2019).
