On the evening of December 16, Beijing Guoan will play against the "leader" Shandong Taishan in the second round of the second stage of the 2021 Chinese Super League championship group. At the pre-match press conference on the evening of the 15th, Guoan coach Bilic said that Shandong is currently ranked first in the standings and is the strongest team in the Chinese Super League, but he believes that his players can meet the challenges of opponents.
Bilic attended the press conference
The Guoan team beat Guangzhou by 1 goal in the last round, and won the opening red of the championship group, and the points also rose to the fifth place. Bilic admitted, "The last game the team played well, not only did they get 3 points, but the players did well on the field. Running without the ball, the intensity of attack and defense, the constant forward and the opportunities created are all satisfactory to me. The only regret was the conversion of chances before the goal, but overall it was good. Of course, we also paid the price, including Li Lei's suspension for a yellow card and Yu Dabao's injury. It was a loss for our match against Shandong. ”
The last meeting between the Two Teams was in the first round of last season's knockout round, when the Guoan team met in two legs with 1 draw and 1 win, and the total score was 4-3 to eliminate the opponent. However, this time again, the strength of the Shandong team's lineup has increased unabated compared with last season, and the five major foreign aides of the Guoan team at that time have all left the team. It can be said that the current Shandong team occupies an absolute strength advantage.
In this regard, Bilic knows it, "Shandong team ranks first in the standings, proving that they are currently the strongest team in the Chinese Super League." They've been consistent on the offensive end, with all the foreign aid and a lot of internationals. The players are generally physically strong and their passing and receiving skills are also very good. In particular, forward players have height and can score goals through crosses. More importantly, they won a big victory in the last round, morale is high, and playing against them will bring great challenges to the team. But I trusted my team very much, and we were in a good position and prepared. ”
Talking about the recognition of the importance of the "Jinglu War", Bilic responded humorously: "The first round of the first round against Shanghai Shenhua, including the last game against Guangzhou, everyone told me that the game was very important, just like the derby. In fact, I know very well what the significance of the match against Shandong is. However, there are only 8 games in the championship group, and the opponents are all very strong teams, so we still treat it as a normal game. Because if it were to be called a 'derby', it might also require the blessing of the fan atmosphere, but it is clearly not now. ”
Hao Wei attended the press conference
Similar to Bilic's idea, Shandong coach Hao Wei also stressed at the press conference that in the face of the Guoan team, Shandong team will not have too much psychological burden, but to face it with a normal mentality.
Hao Wei said, "After two days of adjustment, the players recovered well. Several internationals are in average form, including Kim Kyung-do, who has always been in good physical fitness, who only played more than 70 minutes in the last game, and the internationals who came off the bench later played less than 30 minutes, hoping that their state can be adjusted better. ”
Talking about whether to take revenge for being blocked by the Guoan team in the top four of the Chinese Super League last season, Hao Wei smiled and said: "That has already passed, and the whole team did not consider last season's confrontation. The strength of the Guoan team is good, but our team's current lineup and playing style are relatively stable, and there will not be much change. So I still hope that the players will stay in good shape and strive to win the game.