Shanghai Harbour Team won this crucial derby match, and the fans were naturally elated. However, No.10 Lopez became the center of discussion after he missed two "life-thinking" chances in the match.
Looking back on the season, Lopes scored in the first two rounds of the league, but now has seven consecutive games without a goal, especially for the handling of single goals has become his "label". Fans have been blaming the Brazilian striker for the Harbour's attacking woes.
The media also asked Harbour boss Leko about Lopez's form during the post-match conference of Harbour's 1:0 win over Shanghai Shenhua last night.
"I think Lopez contributed quite a lot to the team as a whole today." Leko expressed his trust in the player, "He worked very hard on the field and kept creating chances. As a team leader level player, Lopez's role is to win the game for the team, which is more important than whether he scores or not."
"I'm sure the goals will come as he continues to work like this. I am very happy with his performance." Leko added.
Leko's words are not without merit. Lopez, in the match against Shenhua, aggressively pushed forward behind the two opposing center backs, putting a lot of pressure on the opponent's defense. Shenhua's center backs Jonic and Feng Xiaoting had to pull back, resulting in a disconnect between the back line and the midfield, which affected their attacking efficiency.
However, Lopez has an average ability to attack directly with the ball, and after dropping back into the midfield to get the ball, he either passes at the wrong time or is prone to being broken up by the opposition. Such a situation has occurred many times in Harbor's recent matches.
In addition, Lopez's lack of ability to protect the ball in one-on-one confrontations with Shenhua's center backs made it difficult for him to play a pivotal role, preventing the Harbour's formation from pressing forward quickly when they switched from defense to offense, resulting in a passive field.
Worse still, Lopez is less confident when shooting and is caught in a vicious cycle of the less he scores the less confident he is. The two one-touch goals in the Derby were handled hastily, and it was the lack of confidence and indecision that was at work.
Lopez hasn't had much luck either. In the games against Wuhan and Hebei, he had a shot blocked by the goal post respectively. With a little bit of luck, he might be able to break his goal drought early on, and his mentality and confidence would improve.
At the end of the day, Lopez's performance on the field still depends on his strength. He's only from Barclays B, not an absolute starter at Jeonbuk Hyundai in South Korea, and is still some way off from Hulk, Arnautovic, and former Swedish international striker Hesson.
Now that the second transfer window of the Chinese Super League has closed, the Harbor's forward line will remain in its current configuration for the remainder of the season. Therefore, in the use of Lopez, head coach Leko will have to both build on his strengths and avoid his weaknesses, as well as make targeted tactical arrangements.
In the four matches since the restart of the Chinese Super League, Harbour have scored only three goals. With such an attacking force, it will undoubtedly be a huge challenge to storm the trophy.
After Muy ended his quarantine of entry and new recruit Paulinho integrated into the team, it is worthwhile to look forward to whether Lecco can lead the Harbour to play a better attacking set to improve the team's attacking ability and goal scoring.
