Shandong Taishan and Guangzhou City failed to break the deadlock after 90 minutes of intense fighting in the 6th round of the 2021 Chinese Super League (CSL) Guangzhou Division, and shook hands with a 0-0 scoreline. The result keeps Taishan in the lead of the Guangzhou Division standings, while Guangzhou City suffered a third consecutive winless game.
Although the Taishan team was considered "home", the match was actually played in Guangzhou due to the tournament's conference system, which allowed Guangzhou City to enjoy the home field advantage to a certain extent. The game was played at a temperature of 36 degrees Celsius and 68% humidity, which made the game more difficult for the northern team.
Guangzhou City fielded four foreigners in the match, with Dembele, Guilherme, Thiago and Caldona all on the pitch, except for Svensson, who just withdrew from the Europa League. In contrast, Taishan were missing two Brazilian foreigners, Guedes and Moises. Nonetheless, Guangzhou City's three foreigners did not fully display their characteristics.
Throughout the match, Taishan practically controlled the rhythm of the game and had it not been for bad luck, Taishan had every chance to win three points. Nonetheless, Guangzhou City was able to get a point from such a passive situation, and coach Van Garst expressed relative satisfaction. However, Guangzhou City's performance in the last three matches was not satisfactory.
Guangzhou City's U23 goalkeeper Han Jiaqi made a number of successful saves to keep the city goal intact in this game. His excellent performance was a defensive success for Guangzhou City and added confidence to the team for the upcoming matches. At the age of 22, Han Jiaqi is one of the most impressive U23 goalkeepers in the world, and his outstanding performance has impressed national team veteran Wang Dalei.
Next week, Guangzhou City will face two key tests against in-form Henan Songshan Longmen and city rivals Guangzhou. The results of these two matches will have a significant impact on the future direction of Guangzhou City. If they can win at least one of these two matches, Guangzhou City's chances of entering the top four will be greatly increased.
