Can Shanghai Port continue its winning streak in the Chinese Super League today? Is there a Shanghai derby in the AFC Champions League? Shenhua takes the lead

On September 17, the night of the full moon, Chinese fans received a unique Mid-Autumn Festival gift: the Chinese Super League club got off to a good start in the AFC Champions League.

The first round of the 2024-2025 AFC Champions League East Asia Zone was staged, and two Chinese Super League teams got off to a good start: Shandong Taishan defeated Central Coast Mariners 3-1 at home, and Shanghai Shenhua came back from a 1-0 deficit to finally reverse the South Korean Pohang Steelers 4-1.

At 20:00 on September 18, Shanghai Haigang FC will face Malaysian team Johor Bahru at the SAIC Pudong Football Stadium. It will be worth paying attention to whether Haigang FC can maintain the winning momentum of the Chinese Super League club in the continental arena.

On-site teaching of the Chinese national football coach, Slutsky created victory

A good coach with football wisdom, especially one who is good at on-the-spot response and tactical adjustment, can really change the temperament of a team. The best negative example is the Chinese national football coach Ivankovic.

After the Chinese national football team lost to Saudi Arabia 11 to 10 at home, Ivankovic led the team to only 1 win in 6 games, creating the team's biggest loss and biggest goal conceded record. In particular, his on-the-spot command in every game was almost like a car accident, making Ivankovic the "worst head coach in the history of the Chinese national football team."

Ivankovic, the head coach of the Chinese team, is considered by many fans to be the worst head coach in the history of the Chinese national football team.

A positive example of a head coach turning the tide by making on-the-spot adjustments is undoubtedly the Shanghai Shenhua head coach Slutsky on the night of the 17th. Facing the strong Korean Pohang Steelers, the Russian-coached Shanghai Shenhua played the worst first half of the season - the game was completely suppressed, with 0 shots in 45 minutes; if Pohang Steelers had not been unlucky and hit the crossbar twice, Shenhua might have fallen behind 0-2 in the first half.

During the halftime break, Slutsky showed his experience as a coach of Premier League teams and the Champions League. He replaced midfielder Wang Haijian with the injured foreign center forward Malele, restoring the team's most familiar 4312 foreign center forward configuration. In the second half, Shenhua began to take the initiative. Although Pohang Steelers scored the first goal through a counterattack, the game was completely taken over by Shenhua, and they won 4-1 in the end.

Shanghai Shenhua head coach Slutsky demonstrated the on-the-spot adjustment ability of a high-level coach in this game.

In the past decade, Shenhua's overall strength has obviously declined. Therefore, the victory won by Slutsky was the first time that Shanghai Shenhua won the AFC Champions League in 15 years. The last time the team won the AFC Champions League was when they beat Suwon Samsung 2-1 at home in the 2009 AFC Champions League group stage. It must be admitted that Slutsky's on-the-spot command and strategic planning were the turning point for Shenhua to complete the great reversal. He almost directed this victory by himself.

After the game, the Russian also analyzed the reasons why Shenhua's performance in the first and second half was like two different teams: "When I coached CSKA in Russia, the rhythm of the Russian Premier League was somewhat different from that of the Champions League, and the team also needed time to adapt. Our team was also a little uncomfortable with the rhythm of the Asian Champions League in the first 60 minutes, but fortunately everyone adjusted to it."

During the half-time break, the Shenhua coaching staff replaced the foreign striker Malele, and the situation of the game underwent a fundamental change.

He also shared details of his on-the-spot command: "In the first half, our lineup lacked pressure. During the halftime break, we adjusted the team's positioning in some defensive areas. At the same time, I asked Teixeira to go to the right and Fernando to play as the attacking midfielder. The formation changed from 4312 to 442. A series of adjustments posed a great threat to the opponent's defense. I am very happy to be able to reverse the situation and win. I hope we can play better in the next game."

Facing Johor Bahru at home, Harbour City needs to be calm and rational

On September 18, at the Shanghai Pudong Football Stadium, Shanghai Haigang, the champion of the 2023 Chinese Super League, will face Johor Bahru, known as the "Malaysian Real Madrid". Haigang head coach Muscat said before the game: "The most important thing is to embrace a brand new event. This is our opportunity to show our style to the whole of Asia. We need to show our outstanding performance and strive to play a wonderful game."

The prize money for the newly reformed AFC Champions League has also been significantly increased.

Johor Bahru is a giant team in Malaysia, currently ranked first in the Malaysian Super League. The team has remained unbeaten for two consecutive seasons, and in the 2023 season, it created a terrifying record of 25 wins, 1 draw, 100 goals scored and only 7 goals conceded. The last time the team lost in a domestic match in Malaysia was the 2021 Malaysian FA Cup final.

In addition, this team is a typical mercenary army. Among the 35 players registered for the AFC Champions League, there are as many as 14 foreign players, most of whom have played in at least the Spanish Second Division, Italian Second Division, Portuguese Super League and other mainstream European leagues. There are at least 7 naturalized players, including Matthew Davis and Corbin Weng, who have previously played for the national youth team or even the national team.

Johor Bahru team has more than a dozen foreign players, and there is no limit on the number of foreign players in the new season of the AFC Champions League.

In order to make a breakthrough in the AFC Champions League, Johor Bahru team signed 8 new players this summer, including Spanish goalkeeper Zubiaule, 31-year-old Korean center back Park Jun-hyung, La Liga Leganes midfielder Onda Ballena, Azerbaijan naturalized international center back Israfilov, Spanish Second Division Huesca's French winger Lombardo and Croatian powerhouse Rijeka's Colombian center forward Obregón.

In last week's Malaysia Super League, the team beat Penang 5-0, with Obregon scoring twice, Lombardo, defensive midfielder Ondabalena and central defender Israfilov all starting. Head coach Bidoglio was confident: "I am very satisfied with the performance of the new players, they have greatly enhanced the team's strength."

Johor Bahru is also a frequent visitor to the AFC Champions League. In the 2019 AFC Champions League group stage, they were defeated twice by Shandong Luneng for the first time against a Chinese team. However, the team has achieved impressive results in recent years. In the 2022 AFC Champions League group stage, they defeated Ulsan Hyundai, a giant in the Korean K1 League, twice. In the AFC Champions League group stage last season, they defeated Ulsan Hyundai 2-1 at home, and scored 4 goals in both rounds to defeat Pathum United of Thailand. Pathum United entered the group stage after eliminating Shanghai Haigang in the AFC Champions League play-offs.

This summer, the Harbour team introduced Brazilian striker Pope, who may bring new firepower to the team's offense.

Facing such an opponent, Shanghai Haigang cannot be careless at all. The team also introduced foreign striker William Pope in the summer window. Muscat introduced, "Regarding Pope, we all know that he has done a very good job in integrating into the team, both in terms of his personal characteristics and personality. Not only that, he has also integrated well into the city of Shanghai. In addition, in terms of technical and tactical play, we have also tried to speed up his running-in with the team through training and warm-up matches. He is also very excited about the arrival of the AFC Champions League and he is ready for tomorrow's game."

Muscat also revealed that he would not consider the goal of the AFC Champions League for the time being. "This year is also the elite competition after the AFC Champions League was reformed. We know that Johor Bahru has a strong dominance in its own league. I have also had some AFC Champions League experience in recent seasons. We are very much looking forward to accepting the challenge and we are ready. Our goal is simple, which is to show our performance and strive to play a wonderful game."