On June 29, Beijing time, Shandong Taishan beat Changchun Yatai 4-1 at home in the 13th round of the 2023 Chinese Super League season. After this game, Taishan climbed to fifth place in the table and their unbeaten streak reached its ninth consecutive game. However, Cressan left the field with a suspected thigh strain after scoring the goal, laying a worry for the team's future.
Looking back at Cressan's recent performance, he has contributed five goals in the past three games, making him the backbone of Taishan's offensive end. The suspensions of Fellaini and Jadson, and the absence of Son Junho, left Taishan relying on two foreigners, Moises and Cressan. Coach Choi Kang-hee placed them in the front line, and the duo lived up to their name, as Kressan opened the scoring with a header just five minutes into the match, and followed it up by teaming up with Moises to extend the lead for Taishan in the seventh minute.
Cressan's form is getting better and better. He scored a hat-trick to lead his team to a 6-1 win over China A's Dongguan Union in the AFC Cup last Saturday. He also scored for Taishan in the away games before the break, contributing five goals in three consecutive games. Compared to the slump on the offensive end of Taishan at the beginning of the season, Cressan has become the leader of the team's offense, inspiring his teammates to shoot.
Undefeated in 9 consecutive doubleheaders, Taishan got back on track. After taking a 2-0 lead, the game was completely in Taishan's control, eventually beating Yatai 4-1. In the double fronts of the Chinese Super League and the FA Cup, Taishan is undefeated for 9 consecutive matches, with 5 wins and 1 draw in the last 6 matches, which is quite an impressive performance.
Since Choi Kang-hee took over, Taishan has been steadily climbing up the table, and fans have seen the team's hope of getting back on track. Judging from recent performances, Taishan is showing signs of a comeback, or at least a steady rise in the standings.
However, the road to third place for the Terriers was not smooth. Cressan's suspected strain has left the team with a hidden problem. After this game, Taishan is 21 points ahead of Yatai in the table, but the opponents in the next three games are not bad. A home match against leader Shanghai Seaport, an away match against Henan, and finally a match against Shanghai Shenhua. Three consecutive high-intensity matches in eight days will undoubtedly be a severe test for Taishan.
To make matters worse, Cressan was injured in the second half of the game with a suspected thigh strain. This injury requires at least 4 to 5 days of rest. If Kressan is out, Taishan's offense will face a huge challenge. Nevertheless, if Taishan can achieve good results in the next matches, the possibility of impacting the top three places still exists.
