On October 25th, the night in Beijing witnessed an exciting matchup in the group stage of the AFC Champions League. Shandong Taishan and Zhejiang combined forces to beat their opponents by the same score of 2-0. Meanwhile, Wuhan Sanzhen also celebrated their first AFC Champions League victory in the team's history last night, as the Chinese Super League (CSL) team once again achieved a clean sweep in a single round of the AFC Champions League group stage after a gap of six years. Under this brilliant record, Shanghai Harbor's Chinese Super League management and player Yan Junling are undoubtedly under tremendous pressure. Because this round of the AFC Champions League Chinese Super League teams not only won all three matches, but also emerged two goal god level characters, which poses a serious threat to Yan Junling's position in the national team.
Among the opponents of the three Chinese Super League teams in this round, Incheon United, the powerhouse of South Korea's K-League, is undoubtedly the strongest. Shandong Taishan narrowly lost in the last round of the Chinese Super League, with three foreign players injured. This time, they are still facing a tough challenge on the road. At the beginning of the match, Incheon United attacked with the advantage of their home field, once making Taishan's defense windy. Fortunately, they have the goalkeeper Wang Dalei to defend. In the first minute, Dare confiscated a long pass from the opponent. In the 4th minute, he managed to parry a close-range header from the opponent. In the 38th minute, Incheon United's rapid counterattack, Zheng Dongyun's shot was quite threatening, but Wang Dalei's concentration solved the crisis.
Throughout the match, Incheon United had 11 shots on goal, but 4 of them were deflected by Wang Dalei, and despite this, they had to accept a 0-2 loss. Despite being 34 years old, Wang Dalei is still in excellent form. With Shandong Taishan conceding only 23 goals in 28 rounds of the Chinese Super League, Wang Dalei's achievement is remarkable. In terms of athleticism, he is undoubtedly better than Yan Junling.
Similarly, Zhejiang's goalkeeper Zhao Bo also showed a very high level in this round. Facing the Japanese Emperor's Cup champion Kofu Kazuhayashi, Zhao Bo made a number of brilliant saves to keep the goal intact. In the first two rounds of the AFC Champions League group stage, despite the Zhejiang team suffered a loss, Zhao Bo contributed seven saves, an outstanding performance. At 1.88 meters tall, Zhao Bo has an excellent sense of position, goal line technique and reaction in front of the goal. 30 years old, he is in the prime of his career as a goalkeeper. Despite his lack of national team experience, Zhao Bo was selected by the national team.
In comparison, Yan Junling, who is a member of the national team, looks a bit embarrassed. In the last round of the Chinese Super League, he was the culprit in his team's 1-2 defeat against Beijing Guoan after a major mistake led to a goal conceded by the harbor. His sluggish performance has fans worried about his performance in the upcoming preseason.
It is worth mentioning that Shanghai Seaport and Shandong Taishan will go head-to-head in the 29th round of the Chinese Super League this weekend. This battle of the heavenly mountain in the Chinese Super League may be Yan Junling's last chance to save himself. If he can lead his team to win the game with an excellent performance, he may still be able to keep his championship hopes alive, otherwise, Shanghai Seaport's dream of winning the championship may be dashed and Yan Junling's position in the national team may not be guaranteed.
