In the 22nd round of the current Chinese Super League (CSL) season, Changchun Yatai suffered a 1-4 defeat at home against Shanghai Harbor despite the absence of several key players. However, with a two-week break in the league immediately following, Changchun Yatai's players will take this opportunity to recover and be in top form for the next 14 rounds of matches.
With the halfway point of this season's Chinese Super League, Changchun Yatai has been suffering from injuries due to the intensive schedule. In the match against Shanghai Harbor, head coach Chen Yang had to start a single-foreign-aid Sergio lineup. Unfortunately, Tan Long, who was playing with an injury, was injured again and left the game. Cheng Changcheng was called upon to replace him and scored his first goal in the Chinese Super League in just two minutes.
Faced with low temperature, rain, avoidance clause (He Hubu, who was on loan from Shanghai Seaport in the second transfer, failed to play) and strength gap, Yatai team fought with Shanghai Seaport until the last moment under difficult circumstances. Cheng Changcheng said, "As you can see, we fought as hard as we could, and now we still have to summarize."
Before the match, head coach Chen Yang expected his team to show fighting spirit and bloodshed against a strong opponent. During the match, Wang Jinxian fought until his blood was stained, but a goal conceded in the opening period put the team in a passive position. It wasn't until they fell behind by two goals that Yatai fought back. Chen Yang said after the game, "I hope the players will dare to rise to the challenge and move forward no matter what kind of opponent they face in the game."
After the match, the team will take a four-day vacation for a short rest to adjust their mentality and physical condition and build up strength for the next 14 rounds of matches. According to the schedule, Changchun Yatai's 23rd round home match against Shanghai Shenhua, 24th round away challenge Chengdu Rongcheng, 25th round home match against Tianjin Jinmen Tiger has been postponed, plus the previous 19th round home match against Beijing Guoan, 20th round home match against Meizhou Hakka, a total of five matches have been postponed, and the specific time of the match is to be determined.
