Can the Taishan team, which is at home at the right home, complete a comeback away from home?
Reporter Chen Yong reported that on February 13, the first leg of the AFC Champions League 1/8 finals, Shandong Taishan lost 2-3 to Kawasaki Frontale at home, which is a game that makes Taishan fans quite entangled, love and hate: Taishan team occupies an obvious advantage in the field and data, with a possession rate of nearly 6 percent, 20 shots on goal 20 to 7, corner kicks 11 to 3, and free kicks 25 to 11, but unfortunately, an unexpected penalty and a mistake in defense buried a good situation, and finally Taishan lost.
On the 17th, Taishan went to Japan, and on the 20th, the second leg of the game will be played in Kawasaki, and there is no away goal advantage in the AFC Champions League this season, and the pressure is not too great for the Taishan team that conceded 3 goals in the first leg.
Before the game on February 13, all parties did not have enough confidence in Taishan: the Taishan team was the latest to end the game last season and the earliest to start the new season, leaving the Taishan team with not enough time for winter training. What is even more worrying is that during the winter training, the Taishan team did not have an official warm-up game, only two internal teaching matches with the Taishan U19 team, and the coach of the Taishan U19 team, Han Peng, and several main players are still in the U19 national team.
Another lack of confidence is the injury problem of the Taishan team: the main striker Zeka suffered a serious injury and is basically certain to miss the next few months; Leonardo can only leave the team on loan, so that the Taishan team has no place to recruit, after Zeka is injured, Taishan can only play in the AFC Champions League with 4 foreign aids, and the key back position has not been able to supplement new foreign aids; international player Liu Binbin suffered an injury in the training of the previous year and could not play in the AFC Champions League.
In the first half of this game, the Taishan team put great pressure on the opponent from the beginning, and if it were not for the excellent performance of Kawasaki Frontale's South Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong, the Taishan team would have taken the lead. But a tragic moment came when an unexpected handball gave Kawasaki Frontale a penalty and a 1-0 lead. Kawasaki Frontale's second goal was exquisite, and a precise pass on the counter-attack allowed the Tarzans to take care of the defense and the Tarzans fell behind 2-0 at half-time.
In the second half, the Tarzan team had been working hard and was in complete control throughout the second half, Fernando and Judson scored respectively, but the mistake of the defense made the Tarzan team concede the third goal: Kawasaki Frontale counterattacked, the Tarzan players lost their defensive position when they retreated, and the only two attacking players of Kawasaki Frontale, one with a header, created a single chance for the other player, and the veteran Akihiro scored a goal. It was a frustrating goal, if the first penalty was an accident, the second was a brilliant and precise pass, and the third was more due to the negligence of the Tarzan players.
The performance of the whole game, the performance of the Taishan team actually exceeded many people's expectations, and the comprehensive crushing at the data level showed that the Taishan team had every chance to score at home, and it was a pity to lose in the end. Even in the era of Jinyuan football, where there are many big-name foreign aids, it is difficult for Chinese Super League teams to play such bright data. But on another level, the Taishan team obviously did not fully enter the game and could not grasp the opportunity, and the lack of details also showed the gap between the Chinese Super League and the J League.
In the previous AFC Champions League, the two-legged elimination system generally had the advantage of away goals, if there is no change, Taishan lost 2-3 at home, which means that it is difficult to turn the tables on the road, however, following the Champions League, the AFC Champions League has also canceled the calculation of away goals in the 2023/2024 season. In this case, Shandong Taishan only needs to win away to have a chance, if they win by one goal in 90 minutes, they will go to extra time, and if they win by two goals, they will eliminate their opponents.
On February 17, the Tarzan team flew to Japan, and the list of participants included Cressan, Kazaishvili, Pato and Judson. Although Fernando was injured in the first leg, he was more optimistic about his recovery after the game and still entered the away list.
All the starters in the first leg can play, and Xie Wenneng, who played more last season, and Liu Guobao, who scored two goals in the warm-up game, are also on the list. Liu Binbin and Liao Lisheng are out due to injury, and Bi Jinhao has not recovered and continues to be absent.
Judging from the current situation, the lineup of the second leg of the Taishan team is not much different from the first leg, Cui Kangxi will not make much adjustments to the starting lineup, the defense line and the back waist will most likely remain stable, especially the back waist, there are not many changes that can be made in the absence of Liao Lisheng, Huang Zhengyu may be an option, but he has not played much before, and only Ji Xiang has made several cameos in the back.
In comparison, Choi Kang-hee can make some changes in the frontcourt, whether Pato can start depends on Choi Kang-hee's choice, and whether Fernando can start depends on his physical condition. Choi Kang-hee usually left enough back-ups when he was arranging for the AFC Champions League in the past, and Xie Wenneng and others may be part of the back-ups.
On the 17th, the day of the Taishan team's departure, Kawasaki Frontale is going to play the Japanese Super Cup, and the 2024 J-League season will then be in full swing, and Kawasaki Frontale will play Shonan Marine on the 24th.