On August 26, Shenhua beat Guoan 2-0 in a key match of the 15th round of the Chinese Super League. After the match, Sui Dongliang, the acting head coach of Guoan, commented on the match in the press conference.
"Although I felt that the game as a whole was under our control, unfortunately we lacked that little bit of luck. Our opponents analyzed our strategy very well and they were very determined in their counterattacks. Both goals conceded were our own mistakes, and once again the distraction led to unnecessary errors." Sui Dongliang said this when summarizing the match.
Regarding the adjustment of the center back combination, Sui Dongliang responded, "There are quite a few players in the team who can play the center back position, such as Liang Shaowen and Yu Yang. We will decide based on who is in better shape. Yu Dabao is our main center back, but he suffered a neck injury in the last game and also came on as a substitute today with an injury."
Looking back on the last three games, Sui Dongliang said, "We gained a total of six points in these three games and reached our basic goal. I think the most important thing is that the team's style of play has changed, getting back to the small, fast, ground and press style of play that we used to have. I've been telling the players that we have to stick to this style of play because then we can create a lot of chances."
Talking about the atmosphere at the Rizhao home stadium, Sui Dongliang commented, "I feel that the atmosphere was very enthusiastic, with the support of the fans of course all want to show our strength. The enthusiasm of the fans gave the players great motivation and unfortunately we were not able to bring them a win."
