On November 27th, the night in Beijing, the East Asian Champions League was in full swing, and Shanghai Shenhua, the runner-up in the Chinese Super League, traveled to South Korea to challenge the Gwangju K-League powerhouse. After a fierce battle, Shanghai Shenhua suffered their second defeat in the AFC Champions League with a score of 0:1, and slipped to sixth in the East Asia Region, leaving the road to promotion in a fog.
This campaign not only tested the technical and tactical qualities of Shanghai Shenhua, but also highlighted the team's shortcomings exposed by the long-awaited war. After the match, Shenhua's manager Slutsky was frank and open in the press conference, analyzing the key to the team's loss.
Slutsky bluntly said that Shenhua had a big gap with their opponents in the speed of conversion between offense and defense in the match against Gwangju. He pointed out: "Observing the whole game, we were slow in both offense and defense, and it was difficult for us to keep up with the opponent's rhythm. Gwangju showed a faster pace of play and excellent teamwork, putting us in a passive position."
Slutsky's statement reflected the team's deep reflection on the current situation. He believes that Shanghai Shenhua's long absence from official matches has really affected the team's form. The rhythm of the players was not as good as that of their opponents, and both the starters and the substitutes had difficulty in adapting to the rhythm of the game, resulting in both offense and defense being rusty and failing to play at their best level. Slutsky's point of view undoubtedly reveals the essence of the reason for Shanghai Shenhua's defeat.
Talking about the team's specific performance, Slutsky said, "The players looked a bit slow in the game, and there was a gap between the speed of reaction and frequency of movement and the opponents. This puts us at a disadvantage when fighting for the ball and defending against opponents' attacks and counterattacks. At the same time, our mistakes in passing and receiving further exacerbated the passivity on the field."
Despite the loss, Slutsky did not lose confidence in his team. He emphasized that Shanghai Shenhua's players will be more clear about their shortcomings and the direction of improvement after this setback. Next week, the team will return home to meet the challenge of the AFC Champions League again, and Slutsky believes that the team will be in better shape. According to the schedule of the AFC Champions League, Shanghai Shenhua will host Ulsan HD of South Korea, the lowest-ranked team in the East Asia region, and as long as Shanghai Shenhua plays at their normal level, they have a good chance to win against Ulsan HD. Shanghai Shenhua is expected to give Chinese fans hope again.
