The first leg of the AFC Champions League Quarter-Finals will kick off on March 6 at 6pm Beijing time. Shandong Luneng Taishan will welcome Yokohama Marinos, a Japanese soccer team.
The knockout round of the AFC Champions League has been held for two rounds, and each game is like a life-and-death competition, especially for a team with such a good strength as Yokohama Mariners, the first strike at home is even more crucial. If they lose at home, the possibility of Shandong Luneng winning on the road in Japan will be greatly reduced.
Yokohama Mariners and Shandong Luneng have played each other frequently, and the two sides have met four times in the AFC Champions League, with two wins and two losses, making it difficult to distinguish between them. However, Luneng's last two encounters ended in a loss. Therefore, this time the AFC Champions League quarter-finals, Shandong Luneng need to be extra cautious.
It is worth mentioning that Shandong Luneng has been in good shape recently, winning two consecutive matches in the AFC Champions League and the Chinese Super League, defeating Kawasaki Striker 2-1 in the AFC Champions League, and defeating Changchun Yatai 4-0 in the first match of the Chinese Super League, which has greatly boosted the team's morale. Foreigners Kressan, Kazaishvili and Jadson are all in excellent form, and even the previously controversial Pato has made a miraculous comeback. With the stable performance of these four foreign aiders, coach Choi Kang-hee can be said to be "ready for anything".
However, the key to victory for Shandong Luneng against Yokohama Marinos is not the four foreigners mentioned above, but a late-blooming but strong local midfielder. This is Li Yuanyi, who did not attract much attention during his time at Evergrande. As he grows older, Li Yuan's technical and tactical level keeps improving. He is not only good at interceptions and steals, but also has excellent ball control and is one of the best local players in terms of breaking through with the ball. After the departure of Moises, Cui Kangxi built Li Yuanyi as the new center of Luneng's midfield. In the first two consecutive wins, Li Yuanyi's organizational ability and creativity have been widely recognized.
According to the data, in the first seven games of the AFC Champions League, Li Yuanyi contributed one goal and one assist for Luneng, whose offensive efficiency is comparable to that of foreign aid. Due to his outstanding performance in the AFC Champions League, Li Yuanyi was even praised by the official blog of the Asian Cup and was strongly recommended to enter the Chinese national team. Therefore, Li Yuanyi is undoubtedly a key player that Cui Kangxi has high hopes on in the game. Only if Li Yuanyi plays stably, Shandong Luneng's midfield control and attacking efficiency in front of the field can be guaranteed.
To summarize, Shandong Luneng and Yokohama Mariners showdown, the key to victory may not be the four ace foreign aid, but the late but not bad strength of the local midfielder. Let's look forward to all the suspense.
