Larson certainly didn't disappoint everyone! In the Chinese Super League that ended today, the former Sweden international, who returned to the team, scored with a lucky free kick to help Dalian beat Henan Songshan Longmen 1-0 in the first game of the second stage, which was a good start to the relegation battle. This victory is the third time that Dalian has won in the Chinese Super League this season, and with the 3 points in hand, they have caught up with the Tianjin Jinmen Tigers on points, ranking third from the bottom with the advantage of the win-loss relationship, temporarily getting rid of the relegation zone.
With three foreign aides pressing the line, coupled with the urgent need to get points out of the embarrassing position of "deputy squad leader", Jose's 4231 starting lineup should be said to be expected. Goalkeeper Zhang Chong, the defender line from left to right is Li Shuai, Danielsen, Dong Yanfeng, Tong Lei, Zhao Xuri and Wu Wei partnered at the back, Sun Guowen, Larson, Wang Zhen'ao as the offensive midfielder, Boateng top in the front line. In the case of the existing players of the Dalian people's team, this lineup is relatively strong, and unlike the large-scale use of U23 players in the first stage, only Wang Zhen'ao has a U23 in the starting lineup today, which is not like the team's previous style. Of course, this kind of change, whether to the players or to the outside world, sends a clear signal - to win.
It should be said that Larson's return has greatly improved the strength of dalian's frontcourt, and the team has a main backbone in the attack, which also reduces the pressure on the defensive end. Although he had not played an official game in nearly a year, Larson's form recovered quite well, and the opponent sent a foreign defender Schonic to focus on Larsson, but Larson was still very active. In the first half, Dalian's data was overwhelming, with 58% possession, 16 shots on goal, and 6 shots on target, while Henan Songshan Dragon Gate had only 1 shot on goal. If there is any regret, it is that dalian people failed to take the lead in the score.
In the second half of the game, Dalian still occupied the advantage on the field, but there was still a lack of grasp of the last pass and the goal, and there were not many opportunities to really close to the goal, and the Henan Songshan Dragon Gate may be because the relegation pressure is not large, and also began to deploy troops on the offensive end, and the game was once more open. In order to change the situation, Jose made a personnel adjustment in the 70th minute, replacing Zhao Xuri and Wang Zhen'ao with Cui Ming'an and Tao Qianglong, who had a relatively large physical consumption. The substitution did have an effect, in the 82nd minute, Tao Qianglong broke through to the front of the penalty area and was put down by the other side, dalian people won a free kick opportunity, only to see the main penalty Larson shoot directly, the ball hit the back of the head of the blocked Kalanga in the human wall to change direction, the opposing goalkeeper can only watch the ball into the net. Although the goal was somewhat lucky, judging from the performance of the whole game, Dalian deserved this victory.
Speaking about his goal after the game, Larson said: "Each of us is trying very hard to solve the problem, and today I am also one of the luckiest ones, to score the ball, very happy to get 3 points. ”
Dalian coach Jose commented on the game after the game: "First of all, I am very satisfied with the performance of the players, our opponents have conceded very few goals in previous matches, and only lost 4 of the 14 games. We made a good start, which helped us a lot, everyone was mentally highly concentrated, although the two sides of the scene is not playing smoothly, but in terms of the intensity of the game we remain the same as the opponent, one point, two penalties to fight very well, and finally through the very strong players to get the lead, there is a certain element of luck. Thank you very much to the Dalian fans for their support, I hope this victory will bring them joy, but also congratulate my players on winning this game. ”