As we enter February, the atmosphere of preparation for the Chinese Super League teams is becoming increasingly tense. After completing their early fitness reserves, teams are focusing on lineup adjustments and have opted for warm-up matches to test their results, especially as warm-up matches have become a regular part of winter training in the same location. Some teams have even traveled to other countries to play against opponents of the same level in order to improve the quality of their warm-ups. 2023 Super League champions Harbour, under the guidance of new coach Muscat, have performed well in three consecutive warm-up matches.
Seaport's three warm-up matches were impressive, defeating Xu Genbao-coached Shanghai 2005-2006 National Games team 4-0, thrashing Shenzhen Youth Team 7-1, and beating Qingdao West Coast 8-3. It is worth noting that the third warm-up match lasted 120 minutes and, despite the scoreline, highlighted the power gap between the Chinese Super League newcomers and the champions, as well as reflecting the absence of international players. Entering the beginning of February, Harbour's current international players are returning to the team and new foreign aiders are in place, making the lineup increasingly complete and significantly stronger.
In Seaport's three warm-up matches, core player Oscar was in particularly good form, which added to the team's confidence in defending their title in the new season. After the winter training in Guangzhou, Seaport moved to Haikou to start the second phase of preparation. on February 4, Seaport and Haikou Yatai played a mid-level match with an agreed length of 135 minutes, which increased the intensity of the game and gave more opportunities for the young players to work out.
At the beginning of the match, Seaport took control of the midfield and forced Yatai into passivity. With the return of international players, Muscat switched flexibly between 433 and 4231 formations, and Seaport's strength advantage was obvious. At the end of the first period, Seaport took a one-goal lead. In the second period, both sides made some changes to their lineups and the game became more tight, but Seaport extended their lead to two goals by seizing the chances with their excellent skills.
The third period saw a larger proportion of younger players and more intense battles between the two sides, but neither side was able to break through the other's goal. In the end, Seaport beat Yatai 2-0 to keep the attack going in four consecutive warm-up matches in their 2024 debut. Ateneo, on the other hand, won two, drew one and lost three of their six warm-up matches this season, with coach Chen Yang needing to summarize and adjust more.
