On November 27th, the night was low, and at 18:00 Beijing time, a key match of the East Asian Champions League Elite League started between Shanghai Shenhua and Gwangju FC. Shanghai Shenhua, playing away from home, faced Gwangju FC, but fell into a passive match.
The first half, Shenhua as a lone boat, in the rough sea lost their way, the offensive end of the lawlessness, Malalai Lei yellow card warning and eclipsed the field, only the opportunity to shoot also failed to knock the opponent's door, half-time, the two sides 0-0 mutual blanks.
In the second leg, Hil Asani came on as a substitute and broke the deadlock for Gwangju FC in just one minute. Although Shenhua tried to counterattack, their attack was like a headless fly against Gwangju FC's tight defense, which lacked effective tactical coordination.
In the end, Shanghai Shenhua defeated Gwangju FC 0-1 on the road, becoming the only Chinese Super League team to lose in this round of the AFC Elite League.
In this matchup, Gwangju FC played in a 442 formation with a total starting player value of 4.2 million euros, while Shanghai Shenhua played in a 4312 formation with a total starting player value of 6.1 million euros. However, the result of the match was a shocker.
In fact, Shenhua's problem is not overnight, once caught in the passive, the team will lose the fighting spirit of the game, the offense relies on long passes without any rules, tactical cooperation is impossible to talk about. Even if the referee's decision is relatively fair, Shenhua's loss still requires self-examination. The team's offense lacked a core, the attacking players were missing, and the passes lacked precision. After Manafa came on as a substitute, Shenhua made some breakthroughs on the sides, but overall, the Chinese Super League runners-up do have shortcomings on the technical and tactical levels. This 0-1 loss may be considered a blessing for them.
Statistically, 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. However, these numbers do not hide Shenhua's problems on the offensive end.
To become a truly strong team, Shanghai Shenhua must solve the problems on the offensive end. The team can't always fight back when they are behind, the offense must have its own style and routine, while sticking to its own tactics. In addition, the lack of foreign aid strength also needs to be addressed.
