On the night of November 21st, Beijing Guoan will challenge Guangzhou City on the road in the 26th round of the 2022 Chinese Super League. On the night of Nov. 20, Guoan's head coach Stanley and assistant coach Cao Yongsheng attended a press conference before the match. Stanley expressed his expectations for the team, hoping that the team would draw strength from the previous FA Cup loss and show a higher fighting spirit.
Recall that in the middle of last week, Guoan lost to domestic champion team Jingchuan Wenhui in the second round of the FA Cup. Even though the team used a combination of old and new lineups, they failed to show competitiveness beyond the amateur players of their opponents. After the loss, the team took a short break and then departed from Rizhao for the Jinjiang tournament to prepare for the upcoming Chinese Super League match against Guangzhou City.
Speaking further at the briefing, Stanley said, "The journey from Rizhao to Jinjiang was long but full of twists and turns. However, the players have kept their spirits up quite well and I expect them to give their all in tomorrow's game to present us with a great showdown."
Currently, the opponent Guangzhou City is in the predicament of relegation zone, after 24 rounds of matches, only obtained 4 wins, 3 draws and 17 defeats, and ranked the bottom three in the table with 15 points. Faced with such an opponent, Stanley gave a serious warning to the players: "Our preparations for the match are normal. Although the FA Cup defeat was regrettable, it made our whole team realize the importance of learning from experience. The players must understand that no matter who the opponent is, no matter what the points are, every game is not to be underestimated. That's the way the competition is in the Premier League and every team will go all out for the three points. I've told the players that our opponents are studying us and they will go all out, which requires us to show a stronger will to fight. Of course, as the head coach, I need to make more tactical plans."
Cao Yongjing, who was also present at the briefing, added, "As the manager said, the FA Cup loss is a deep lesson for our team, I hope we can recognize the shame and courage from it, and play with the spirit of our team in each of the next rounds of the league, and I firmly believe that we can achieve a good result."
