In this season, the Shanghai Harbour team has been revitalized like never before, they are like tigers down the mountain in the league, successive victories, and recently hit five consecutive victories, after five years to return to the top of the Chinese Super League seems to be a foregone conclusion.
However, the strong performance of the Harbour team this season has also aroused the doubts of many fans and media. Since the beginning of the season, it seems that they have always been "favored" by the referees at critical moments, not only gaining some unexpected points, but also escaping from the red card penalties under controversial calls.
Looking back at the first derby match with Shenhua, the Harbors were lucky to get a point by allowing Wu Lei to score an equalizer from a sublime corner kick. In the three matches against Tianjin Jinmen Tigers, Beijing Guoan and Shandong Taishan, all four goals scored by the opponents were ruled out. In the matches with Henan Songshan Longmen and Nantong Zhiyun, Harbour Team even won two victories by three suspected penalty kicks, accumulating six points.
In the match, Cai Huikang broke the toe of Shenhua's Wu Xi and injured the ankle of Guoan's Yang Liyu, but only received a yellow card. In the rematch with the Tianjin Tigers, Zhang Linliang's shoveling not only spoiled the opponent's counterattack, but also led to a broken ankle of the Tianjin player, but also only received a yellow card.
It can be said that this season's Harbour team has enjoyed the referee's "care" in the Super League, which is why they have been able to show their strength. However, the real test is coming. In the middle of this month, Harbour Team will participate in the AFC Champions League play-offs against Thailand's Pathum League.
The AFC has announced the list of referees for the match between Seaport and Baton Rouge United, with the Bahraini referee team in charge of enforcement. Obviously, the foreign referees will not be as blindly biased in favor of the Harbour team as the Chinese referees. Without the referee's "protection", it is uncertain whether Harbour will be able to beat Baton Rouge as they did in the Chinese Super League.
This season, under the guidance of Spanish coach Javier, the Harbour changed its previous tactics of playing mainly on offense to a half-court defense and scoring through counterattacks. This style of play has made the players more aggressive in their defensive moves, and from time to time injuries have occurred.
Nonetheless, the Harbour's defense was not flawless and they still had their goals broken down by their opponents many times in the league, but the help of the referees and VAR referees saved them from bigger losses. In a number of matches against Jinmen Tigers, Guoan and Taishan, all four goals scored by their opponents were disallowed.
However, I am afraid that these scenes will be difficult to reproduce in the AFC Champions League. After all, referees in other countries have their own enforcement standards and criteria, and it's impossible for them to make judgments based solely on the background of the teams, as the Chinese Super League referees do.
Of course, compared to Pathum United of the Thai Premier League, Harbour Team's strength is obviously better. With powerful foreigners like Oscar and Vargas, and the "Chinese Messi" Wu Lei in the front line, Harbour Team won the AFC Champions League qualifier against Pathum United in a landslide victory. We expect Seaports to show their true strength in the match and leave those fans who questioned their reliance on referees speechless...
