On the night of November 27th, as the clock struck 18:00 Beijing time, the fifth round of the East Asian Champions League Elite League officially kicked off with Shanghai Shenhua visiting Gwangju FC.
However, at the end of the first half, Shenhua seemed to be in a fog, the attacking end of no rules and regulations, Malelai unfortunate to receive a yellow card, only one shot on goal at halftime, the game was tied 0-0 at halftime.
In the second leg of the match, Hil Asani came on as a substitute and broke the opponent's goal in just one minute, Shenhua wanted to launch a counterattack, but they had no good idea.
In the end, visiting Shenhua lost 0-1, becoming the only Chinese Super League powerhouse to lose a match in this round of the elite AFC Champions League.
Gwangju FC versus Shenhua, a team playing in a 442 formation, the total valuation of the starting players is only 4.2 million euros, while Shenhua is playing in a 4312 formation, the total valuation of the starting players is as high as 6.1 million euros.
However, in this game, Shenhua didn't seem to play as well as they should have. Once they took the lead, the team lost their forward momentum, with a single means of offense, reliance on long passes, and a lack of tactics.
Despite the referee's commendable performance, Shenhua's loss does not seem to be a surprise. The team lacked core players on the attacking end, and the organization of attacks and direct passes were lacking. After Manafa came on as a substitute, Shenhua made a slight improvement in the side, but overall, as the runner-up in the Chinese Super League, Shenhua still has a lot of room for improvement in the technical and tactical levels. 0-1 may be the limit for them.
Statistically, the two sides seemed to be equal in strength. Gwangju FC had 56% possession, 8 shots on goal and 3 on target, while Shenhua had 6 shots on goal and only 2 on target.
To become a real powerhouse, Shenhua needs to find a breakthrough on the offensive end. The team can't always wait until they fall behind to fight back, the offense needs to have a style, regularity and adhere to the tactical execution. At the same time, the strength of foreign aid also needs to be improved to adapt to the team's overall tactics.
