In the recently concluded Chinese Super League, Taishan has risen to the top of the table with their excellent form, except for Harbor. Since Choi Kang-hee took the helm, Taishan have only lost one game and have rocketed up the table to second place. Although there is still a 14-point gap between them and top team Harbor, Taishan's momentum is significantly better than Shenhua's, who are on a losing streak. The crowd favors Taishan to stay in second place, but the road to the championship is full of thorns for the team, and the realistic goal is to retain their runner-up status. At the same time, Taishan will have to deal with the dual challenges of the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, which will require careful planning.
While results have steadily improved, the Taishan team also needs to strengthen its personnel pool. After losing a number of strikers to injuries to Cressan, the team brought in Pato in the summer transfer window to strengthen their firepower. In the match against Meizhou Hakka, Pato made his debut by scoring a penalty kick. Facing the upcoming battle in Rongcheng, although the opponent is playing at home, Rongcheng's strength should not be underestimated. Both Seo Jung-won and Choi Kang-hee are from South Korea, and this match is also seen as a battle between Korean coaches. Seo's goal is to lead his team to victory.
Before the match, there was news that top scorer Cressan had recovered, and this news was also confirmed by Choi Kang-hee at the conference. In fact, in the last round of matches, Klassen had the chance to play, but the coaching team chose to rest him considering the limited strength of the opponent. Now, Crezan's return energizes the Taishan team. Imagine how the Brazilian striker duo of 12-goal scorer Cressan and newcomer Pato will shock the opponents.
However, Rongcheng's recent situation is not good, losing three games in four rounds of matches, dropping to the fourth place in the ranking. With only two points difference with Taishan, Rongcheng is expected to rebound if they can win. Despite Choi Kang-hee's rapport with Seo Jung-won, he is always serious about the game and will not mention the mentorship. This win will be an important lesson to prove his coaching ability.
In the first round of the match between the two sides, the two sides played to a 2-2 draw. For the Tigers to win, they must tighten up their defense to better utilize their power on the offensive end. Fans are looking forward to a 3-game winning streak to celebrate Cressan's return. It is worth mentioning that after a wave of injuries and illnesses, the Taishan team has seen the return of players who have recovered from injuries, such as Jadason, Cressan, Zheng Zheng, Liu Yang and Wang Tong, who have returned and performed well, making the Taishan team's lineup stronger and stronger.
