On July 18, China's soccer world ushered in an exciting duel. In the focus battle of the 6th round of the 2021 Chinese Super League season, Guangzhou reversed to beat Chongqing Two Rivers Athletic 3-1. The first victory after the interval was like a breeze, dispelling the haze of the previous draw with Henan Songshan Longmen. With this victory, Guangzhou is temporarily leading the standings, showing the huge advantage of depth of the lineup on the way to the championship.
However, after Guangzhou were held to a draw by Henan Songshan Longmen in last Thursday's bye, questions were raised, with the finger pointing directly at head coach Carnavaro. Facing Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic, who also had a poor squad, Cannavaro made a decisive change to his starting lineup, with Alan and Yang Liyu replacing Ackerson and Gaolat, and Wei Shihao joining forces with a new trident. Although Guangzhou took the offensive initiative after the start, Chongqing broke the deadlock first. Guangzhou didn't let this discourage them, and Wei Shihao and Gao Junyi quickly took the lead before Yang Liyu added a second goal to seal the win in the second leg.
Despite the midweek bye Guangzhou jumped up to second place on goal difference, the three-point difference with Shandong Taishan, as well as being level on points with Guangzhou City and Shenzhen, and only one point above Qingdao, didn't leave much optimism for Cannavaro's men. However, the win came at the right time, as Guangzhou moved level with Shandong Taishan in the table and remain in the top four of the group. Guangzhou also temporarily tied Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Seaport in the Chinese Super League standings.
Guangzhou's victory tonight could not be separated from the strength of the lineup and the thickness of the bench. Cannavaro rotated the front, center and back lines and adjusted the substitutions freely in the second half. Although the team is playing under the banner of All China Class, the thickness of the lineup is still at the top level. After Paulinho's departure, Cannavaro has yet to find a perfect solution, but the team's strength is still not to be underestimated. Under the intensive schedule of 9 rounds of league matches in 25 days, Guangzhou has shown strong competitiveness by virtue of the advantage of more soldiers and more generals.
Currently, Shandong Taishan, Shenzhen and Shanghai Shenhua are the only teams that are not affected at the foreign aid level, but there is still a gap between the strength of domestic players and Guangzhou. In the first stage, Guangzhou not only has to ensure the top four in the group, but also try to widen the point gap with other competing teams. This victory will undoubtedly add confidence to the Guangzhou team's future championship path.
