The agreement of the Super League Big4 can not be ignored, however, the top domestic team was accidentally eliminated by the eighth place in the qualifying round of the Thai Premier League, the Big4 reduced to Big3, just like the loss of a leg, always make people feel that something is missing. In the first round of the new season's AFC Champions League, the Chinese Super League team's performance was uneventful, with a win, a draw, and a loss that was neither stunning nor colorless. Fans couldn't help but wonder why Hong Kong, who are about to win the league title, didn't go to the AFC Champions League and chose to celebrate in other ways. The netizens' comments were pungent and sarcastic.
Overall, the Chinese Super League teams performed reasonably well in the first round of the AFC Champions League. Shandong Taishan subbed in for Kaya FC and managed to take three points away from home. Wuhan Sanzhen drew with the defending AFC Champions League champions at home. The only regrettable thing is that the Zhejiang team suffered a heavy defeat in the match with Wurinam.
Shandong Taishan's win was unexpected, but with four foreigners and a naturalized player in the starting lineup, it seemed reasonable to win the Philippine title. Wuhan Sanzhen were even more surprising as they held the lead until the end of the match, although they were eventually beaten by Urawa Red Diamonds in injury time.
Zhejiang was originally full of confidence and was placed in the strongest group. Despite the strength of Buriram, the other opponents were not unbeatable. However, I still didn't expect them to perform the best of the CSL Big3, losing 1-4 on the road. Considering the general lack of AFC Champions League experience among Zhejiang players, such a result might be understandable.
When it comes to AFC Champions League experience, Shanghai has to be mentioned. In the era of "Golden Dollar Football", Shanghai's AFC Champions League performance was second only to Guangzhou Evergrande. Since Guangzhou's dominance, the most invested Chinese Super League team has naturally become the leader of the Chinese Super League teams, shouldering a similar burden as Guangzhou Evergrande did in the past, to fight for the glory of the country.
However, it is regrettable that the strong Shanghai team did not reach the AFC Champions League for three consecutive seasons: the 2021 season was eliminated by the Southeast Asian team Kaya FC in the qualifying round; the 2022 season was withdrawn due to the epidemic; and the 2023 season was eliminated by the Southeast Asian team Batang United in the qualifying round again.
In the past, SIPG fans often took pride in Evergrande's best results in the AFC Champions League. Now it seems a bit ironic. However, a team based on Chongming Island has recently been hailed by the Shanghai media as "true national supporters".
Unfortunately, on the day of the first round of the AFC Champions League, all members of the Hong Kong team took photos of their family gathering. It's not shame, it's pride! As the strongest team in the Chinese Super League was eliminated, a team with a little bit of pride would not choose to party on the day of the AFC Champions League match, and even if they did, they would try to keep a low profile for fear of being ridiculed by others. The Hong Kong team, on the other hand, openly showed their "happiness", which reminds us of the saying: "You don't do it for your country, but you do it for your own enjoyment." After the first round of the AFC Champions League, fans couldn't take it anymore, and they spat on the Hong Kong team.
Come to Hong Kong and hear from the fans! A fan left a message spouting the score of the AFC Champions League match? Others replied, "Dinner", "Fix the light bulb", while others replied, "Go to Hong Kong for dinner to celebrate, so you don't have to play the qualifying rounds next year." A netizen even said that even Baton Rouge couldn't win, and called himself a "national foster worker".
