The goals of Abdul Rousuli, Li Yuanyi, Fernando and Kazaishvili allowed Shandong Taishan to defeat Cangzhou Lions 4-1 at home and ushered in the biggest victory of the season.
After the first 6 rounds of the league, Shandong Taishan, who is regarded as the favorite to win the championship, and Cangzhou Lions, who are relegation favorites, form a stark contrast, the latter has remained unbeaten in the last 5 rounds, won all the last 3 rounds, and ranked 4th in the Chinese Super League. Shandong Taishan is only ranked 7th, and has only achieved 1 win, 2 draws and 2 losses in the last 5 rounds.
In addition to the problems within the club, injuries are also one of the key reasons for Shandong Taishan's poor performance. After Pato's fractured season was reimbursed, Shandong Taishan missed as many as 14 players due to injury.
However, in Friday's training, Wang Dalei, Zheng Zheng, Cressan, Judson and Liu Binbin resumed joint training, which means that the injury situation has eased. Especially in the forward line, in the case of Pato and Zeka's long-term absence due to injury, and Xie Wenneng playing in the U23 Asian Cup, the comeback of Cressan and Liu Binbin has given Cui Kangxi a usable person.
In the case of a very serious injury situation, Choi Kang-hee's patchwork lineup had a good performance in the away game against Harbour, once scoring 3 goals in a row, but unfortunately, Taishan was also scored 3 goals in a row by the opponent, and finally lost with a score of 3-4.
Choi Kang-hee still left Cressan on the bench, but Fernando's excellent form allowed Shandong Taishan to score three goals in the first half. Fernando first provided an assist for Abdul Suli, and then a cross from the bottom line caused Shao Puliang to get out of his hands, and Li Yuanyi scored with a supplementary shot. In stoppage time in the first half, Liu Yang made a penalty, and Fernando took the penalty and scored the first goal of the Chinese Super League in the season.
In the second half, Kazaishvili shook off a defender in the box and scored his fourth goal of the game. After taking a 4-0 lead, Choi Kang-hee immediately replaced Judson and Li Yuanyi, two players who had just returned from injury. In the final moments, Oscar scored a goal for the Cangzhou Lions.
This is Shandong Taishan's biggest victory of the season and the fourth victory of the season. Previously, Shandong Taishan only defeated Kawasaki Frontale 4-2 in the AFC Champions League, Changchun Yatai 4-2 in the Chinese Super League, and Qingdao Manatee 1-0.
After defeating the Cangzhou Lions, Shandong Taishan broke the embarrassing record of not being able to win 2 games in the Chinese Super League. At the same time, Shandong Taishan has been undefeated against Cangzhou Lions in the past three times, and has played against Cangzhou Lions at home for two consecutive years, Shandong Taishan has won all of them, scoring 8 goals.
It is worth mentioning that after losing 0-1 at home to Rongcheng last season, Shandong Taishan defeated Cangzhou Lions 4-0 at home, and then ended with a 9-game unbeaten record.
In the case of an incomplete lineup, being able to achieve such a big victory will obviously boost the morale of Shandong Taishan. It is also worth emphasizing that Cressan came off the bench this time, which means that he is back in form, and Fernando's excellent form has also reassured Choi Kang-hee.
Perhaps, just like last season, a 4-1 victory over the Cangzhou Lions will put Shandong Taishan back on track.