Guoan attached great importance to this warm-up match for Nantong Zhiyun, and they handpicked their strongest lineup for the match, including the debut of newcomers Yang Liyu, De Souza, Ngadeu and Ademi. However, Zhang Yuning was unable to play due to injury. The match became Guoan's last practice before the new season. As a newcomer to the league, Nantong Jiyun also went all out and sent their main lineup to the match. In the early part of the game, surprisingly, Nantong Zhiyun dominated the game, and the tacit understanding between Guoan's players was a little rusty, with a lot of passing errors.
In the new season's campaign, De Souza has been deployed at the back, mainly in defense, as a line of defense in the midfield. Center back Ngaardew started the game well, with a good sense of positioning and being the heart of the backline, showing a commanding presence and a threatening attacking display. In the 18th minute, Ademi had a chance to cross the ball inside the box, but his teammates failed to follow up in time and missed the chance to score. Nantong Zhiyun also created a number of counter-attacking opportunities with the excellent play of the foreigners.
Guoan's tactical play changed significantly, relying less on midfield control and more on attacking through both sides of the ball. De Sousa was active in the midfield to intercept, while Ademi played the role of an organizer by going forward and attacking more often. The pace of the game was relatively slow, and Guoan did not find any effective means to score in the offense. Nantong Zhiyun's style of play was very pragmatic, three foreigners were active, and defender Ngaardeu even often took the ball to the midfield to finish his shots. The most urgent problem for Guoan is the lack of a strong attacker in the midfield.
De Souza and Ademi are not capable of advancing with the ball. Zhang Xizhe as a front man is almost hard to find on the field. Prince Ming's performance on the front line was not satisfactory. Nantong Zhiyun's barrel formation defense was effective and counterattacks were threatening. Romario killed the box through a pass from Ngaardew. Fortunately, Guoan's defenders destroyed the opponent's attack in time. In the 62nd minute, Guoan replaced Kang Xiangyou and Zhang Chengdong, while De Souza and Bo Yang were replaced and Stanley Menzo mainly practiced his lineup.
After the substitution, Guingamp's attacking end picked up. Ngadeu came close through a set piece attack. Ngadeu was replaced in the 70th minute. His first game performance was perfect. On the defensive end, he was solid and has excellent passing ability. He is a trustworthy foreigner. On the offensive end, with his height advantage and excellent bouncing power, he became a scoring weapon for Guoan. Guoan is undoubtedly right in their choice of foreign aid. Currently, they are in dire need of a local partner for Ngaardew. In this game, Guoan replaced Bo Yang and Zhang Chengdong, who did not make mistakes but had a mediocre performance.
On the offensive end, Adebenelo had his best performance. Guoan mainly relies on the left side of the attack, and his ability to break through is quite impressive. Guoan has two problems in the attacking end: firstly, the whole team's midfield lineup has changed considerably, compared with last season, the starting lineup is equivalent to replacing five starters, and there is a lack of tacit understanding among each other; secondly, Zhang Yuning's absence can't be compensated for, and the middle of the road lacks a pivot point, and there is no reliable player who can complete the shot on goal. Prince Ming also failed to capitalize on his one-touch chance. Many fans felt that international goalscorer Barton should not have been dropped. In the final stage of the game, Guoan replaced a group of local players, including newcomer Fang Hao, and their performance was quite impressive. The Chinese Super League will kick off on April 15, leaving little time for Guoan.
