Who would have thought that in the beacon of the AFC Champions League play-offs, the leaders of the Chinese Super League would unexpectedly lose to a non-top team from the Thai Super League on their own turf.
It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good. Even though Shanghai Seaport managed to qualify for the AFC Champions League, the road to the title seems to be out of reach. After the unexpected loss in the play-offs, Shanghai Seaport may shift their focus to the Chinese Super League and try to win the title.
The 24th round of the Chinese Super League is coming up, and Shanghai Harbor's away game against Henan may be a good opportunity to grab points. And Shandong Taishan is also expected to take all three points in the away game against Shenzhen.
Shanghai Seaport Henan vs.
Match time: August 25, 19:35
Currently, Shanghai Harbour tops the Chinese Super League table with 53 points from 23 matches with 16 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses, 12 points ahead of Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Shenhua, with a strong hope of winning the title. With only 7 rounds left in the league, the championship is in sight.
Henan is in 12th place with 25 points from 23 matches, 6 wins, 7 draws and 10 losses, only 7 points away from the relegation zone. Despite the unsatisfactory results, the current risk of relegation is still manageable.
Henan won 3, drew 2 and lost 5 of their last 10 matches, but won the last two rounds in a row. Shanghai Seaport, on the other hand, has 6 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses in the last 10 matches, and 1 draw and 2 losses in the last 3 matches in the Chinese Super League and AFC Champions League double-header.
In the last 10 meetings between the two sides, Shanghai Seaport has the upper hand with 9 wins and 1 loss.
Javier, the former head coach of Henan Jianye who is now the head coach of Shanghai Seaport, has been questioned recently for his recent poor performances, especially his failure to qualify for the AFC Champions League.
Lost in the play-offs. Confused about the way forward.
