Yangcheng Evening News reported that at 17:30, Guangzhou will face Shanghai Harbor in the fourth round of the first phase of the Chinese Super League. Originally, the match was a summit duel between the giants of the Chinese Super League, but with the decline of Guangzhou's competitiveness, the balance of victory has been clearly tilted to the side of Shanghai Harbor.
In the first three rounds of the new Chinese Super League (CSL) season, Guangzhou, playing with a young squad, suffered consecutive defeats to Shanghai Shenhua, Wuhan Sanzhen and Wuhan Changjiang, suffering three consecutive defeats in the opening rounds for the first time in the team's history, and at the same time, being the only team yet to score a goal.
In the match against Wuhan Changjiang, Guangzhou showed their best attacking form of the season so far with 13 shots on goal and were just one goal away from breaking the deadlock. Skipper Liu Zhiyu said the players have worked very hard and although the young strikers need time to gel, the attacking line has tried a variety of methods.
Facing three consecutive defeats, Liu Zhiyu emphasized that the team has always maintained a sense of crisis and the current goal is to focus on each game, put down the burden and go all out. In the first round against Shanghai Shenhua and the last round against Wuhan Changjiang, Guangzhou used four-back defense and kept a record of not conceding a single goal.
Defender Wu Shaochong is back from suspension, and the team is expected to continue to play with four defenders, with defense as the first priority, before seeking offensive opportunities. Liu Zhiyu pointed out that the key to the game is which team makes fewer mistakes and which team is more focused. Wu Shaocong also said that the team is improving with each game, and that the victory will come after perfecting their shortcomings.
Shanghai Harbour Team won their first match of the season with a 2-0 victory over Hebei, with newcomers Zhang Linpeng and Ndiaye both scoring. In this match, Zhang Linpeng will face Xu Xin, who is returning from a two-round suspension. Despite the fact that Shanghai Seaports is missing two foreign players, Oscar and Muy, and the preparation for the match is not systematic, the overall strength of the team is still stronger than Guangzhou. Boss Leko believes that the team's offensive and defensive performance has been significantly improved, and the new recruits are back in form, which will be a tough test for Guangzhou, who has lost consecutive matches.
