In the semi-finals of the AFC Cup, Dalian faced the challenge of Taishan. Before the match, Coach Xie Hui vowed to go all out, and fans speculated that he would send his strongest lineup, but in the end it didn't work out that way. Xie Hui skillfully rotated his squad to face Taishan in the semi-final of the FA Cup, with Wu Miao and goalkeeper Kudizhi getting a chance to play in the previous round.
Looking back at Dalian's matchup with Taishan in the Chinese Super League, Wu Miao showed his bravery in front of the goal, making a number of brilliant saves, and if it weren't for Dalian's solid defense, the team would have been hard-pressed to keep up the scoreline in front of the Taishan team. However, in the semi-final of the AFC Cup, Coach Xie Hui unexpectedly dropped Wu Miao, a move that led to speculation about whether it gave Taishan an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
The match between Taishan and Dalian showed that Shandong was grateful to Xie Hui for this decision. Taishan was not in the best of form and made a mistake shortly after the start, when starting center back Jadason was given a red card for a foul, leaving Taishan in a predicament of playing with one man less in the first half. Imagine if Dalian had sent out their starting lineup as the fans expected, Taishan would have had to be prepared for at least a penalty shootout.
Taishan still have the AFC Champions League coming up, so if they put too much energy into the match with Dalian, it will definitely affect their performance in the AFC Champions League. Therefore, Xie Hui chose to send a substitute lineup to the match, which is undoubtedly a kind of respect to Cui Kangxi. It's worth mentioning that Dalian's substitutes had an impressive performance, creating many threats and making the fans' eyes bright.
In the future relegation battle in the Chinese Super League, if Dalian can rely on these outstanding substitutes to break through, it will be expected to succeed in relegation. As a veteran team, Dalian has a glorious history of winning the Chinese Super League title. Under the leadership of young manager Xie Hui, Dalian is expected to regain its former glory soon.
