With the start of the new Chinese Super League season, we have been able to identify a few teams that are quite strong. Though the numbers don't show a huge difference in terms of wins and losses, the difference between the two teams in the actual matches is quite significant. Shanghai is undoubtedly the favorite to win the championship, followed closely by Shenhua and Rongcheng. Although Taishan is slightly better than Zhejiang, there is still a gap between the two teams compared to the past strong teams. Many are skeptical of Taishan, perhaps due to their impressive performance in the AFC Champions League, but the length of the league campaign has led to reservations about their prospects of winning the title?
Did you notice the advantage of the foreigners in the SIPG team? Each of their passes looked so solid, and the strikers got numerous scoring chances as a result, something other teams didn't have in the first round or throughout the Chinese Super League season.
Truth be told, the problem at the moment is that the Shanghai team has the best midfield setup of all the Chinese Super League teams, with few rivals. Oscar's passing accuracy has been significantly improved in this team and is able to create a number of scoring chances. In addition, the team has a national team defender lineup that is unique in the Chinese Super League. Almost every player is of national team caliber and is unrivaled.
Needless to say, this team is top-notch in Asia and boasts world-class star Wu Lei. If you have a different opinion, take a look at his performance at Barcelona - scoring like a champ. With such a team, it seems impossible to find any obvious shortcomings. The coaching team's pragmatism and advanced tactics leave their opponents with no chance.
Shenhua and Rongcheng's strengths are equally obvious, and it's almost impossible to find obvious weaknesses, but the teams seem to be less well-groomed than Shanghai. This may be due to an overabundance of newcomers. However, these two teams have top-notch player configurations in the Chinese Super League, with reasonable age structures.
Rongcheng and Shenhua are similarly hard to find flaws in, and the bench is full of international players. However, compared to Shanghai, they are less polished and have more newcomers. However, their player setup is unrivaled in the Chinese Super League and very reasonable in terms of age structure.
The advantage of these two teams over Shanghai is that they have more young players, who are also of international caliber, but are a little less strong in the midfield. If the Shanghai team has Oscar in their midfield, I am afraid that no Chinese Super League team will be able to compete with them.
It's not unusual for Taishan to be in fourth or fifth place. Admittedly, they did well in the AFC Champions League and won a lot of praise, but the league campaign is 30 rounds long. Taishan's advantage is not as obvious as in the AFC Champions League, but it will be more prominent if they switch to the Cup. However, Taishan has fewer foreigners and the departure of Zeca has made the team weaker and less capable of heading the ball.
At the moment, it is unlikely that the team will make any changes to its tactics, and the opponents' dense defense will challenge the team's performance. Nonetheless, the team has performed well in the cup competitions. Unless new players are brought in during the summer, the team's problems will be difficult to solve. This is one of the reasons why we are conservative about their prospects of winning the league. Without the aura of the AFC Champions League, Taishan's performance will be no different from other teams in the Chinese Super League.
