As the third round of the AFC Champions League group stage came to an end, the Chinese Super League (CSL) legion had a remarkable performance in the Asian tournament. Wuhan Sanzhen beat Hanoi of Vietnam 2-1, Zhejiang beat Kofu Fenglin 2-0, and Shandong Taishan beat Incheon United 2-0 on the road. As the new AFC president takes office, the teams seem to be holding back their energy to show a new and refreshed look in front of their leader. Overall, this round of the AFC Champions League, the Chinese Super League teams showed unprecedented toughness.
Since last year, Chinese Super League teams have rarely seen such a rebound. In particular, Shandong Taishan's 2-0 victory over Incheon United on the road, even though the referee favored the home team and the main players retired from the game with injuries, Shandong Taishan, under the guidance of Korean coach Choi Kang-hee, presented the most decisive and technical content of the game this season.
On the contrary, Wuhan Sanzhen did not perform well overall despite scoring two goals against Vietnam. They were even slightly embarrassed when they were scored a goal by Hanoi, a Vietnamese team with only 10 men at the end of the match. However, considering Wuhan Three Town's recent internal and external strife, perhaps this is what affected their form and performance.
Some people call it a "flashback" for the Chinese Super League teams, but victory is the hard truth. The three Chinese Super League teams scored six goals in this round of matches, with Wei Shihao being the only Chinese player lucky enough to score after a triple strike from the goalkeeper. As for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, it's a question worth pondering as to who will stand out from the rest of the Chinese team and become the center of attention.
On November 16th, the Chinese soccer team will challenge Thailand on the road, and this match is undoubtedly full of challenges. If the Thai team goes all out, the Chinese team will face a tough test. Looking back at Thailand's record this year, they have beaten Hong Kong China 1-0, Lebanon 2-1 and Iraq 2-2. Let's wait and see if the Chinese soccer team can win against these three strong teams.
It's not hard to see that Ma Dexing was quite disappointed and angry about the 2-1 defeat to Hanoi, Vietnam by Wuhan Sanzhen, as seen in his comments above. China, on the other hand, will welcome South Korea after their away win against Thailand. Although the Lippi-coached national football team had beaten South Korea 1-0 in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, that has become history. Nowadays, I am afraid that it is as difficult for China to beat South Korea as it was for Vietnam to beat Brazil.
In a way, winning is not our only concern. As fans, we should be more concerned about which player can break the goal drought.
