Without Zeng Cheng, Shenhua's FA Cup trip this season would have come to an end, and there would be no upcoming FA Cup semi-final in the Shanghai Derby. Zeng Cheng used his excellent performance to prove once again to everyone that a good goalkeeper is enough to top half of the team.
Successive victories over Sichuan Minzu, Changchun Yatai and Shenzhen, breaking through from the recognized death zone, and advancing to the top four of this season's FA Cup, what satisfied Shenhua the most was undoubtedly this set of figures - all 4 games were kept clean and no goals were conceded for 360 consecutive minutes. In the previous first stage of the Chinese Super League, Shenhua conceded 17 goals in 14 games, conceding an average of 1.2 goals per game.
For any team to achieve good results in a long season, solid defense is the foundation. Shenhua's huge change from an average of 1.2 goals conceded per game in the league to zero goals conceded in the FA Cup stems from the transformation of the team's defensive system by Mao Yijun, who is a defender, but more importantly, the return of the goalkeeper Zeng Cheng.
After two rib fractures in the fourth round of the league against Hebei, Zeng Cheng entered a recovery period of nearly 5 months, missing as many as 10 rounds of the league. It was in these 10 league games that Shenhua had a poor record and Choi Kang-hee was dismissed. Especially in the last round of the first stage of the league, Shenhua was able to advance to the championship group in Baoping, and in the opening 16 minutes, the city gate lost consecutive hands, and was fed three goals by Beijing Guoan, thus falling into the relegation group.
Zeng Cheng's role was particularly evident in the second leg of the FA Cup quarterfinals between Shenhua and Shenzhen. Since Shenhua won 1:0 in the first leg and took the lead, Shenhua put on a defensive position in the second leg of the competition, while the Shenzhen team attacked with all its might, and Shenhua's defense line was under great pressure. In the whole game, Shenzhen had 13 corner kick opportunities, 9 shots on goal, and 71% of the possession rate, but ultimately failed to break through Shenhua's goal. Zeng Cheng contributed at least 5 divine saves to keep all the opponent's threatening shots out of the door.
Being able to have such a brave Zeng Cheng is undoubtedly a great blessing for Shenhua. However, Zeng Cheng, who was born in January 1987, is 34 years old this year. Although the career of goalkeepers is relatively long, it is undeniable that once a player has passed the age of standing, the competitive status is likely to plummet. Shenhua's previous main goalkeeper Li Shuai performed well at the beginning of joining Shenhua, but with age, whether it is the speed of landing, the speed of reaction in front of the goal, or the height of the flying sky, etc., it cannot be the same as that year, and its performance naturally has a certain gap with the expectations of fans. Moreover, zeng cheng's injuries in recent years have also been relatively many. In the two years since joining Shenhua, he has experienced a period of injury suspension every year.
As long as Zeng Cheng can't play, the strength of Shenhua goalkeepers will drop by several notches, which has also become a major hidden danger for the team. Although Shenhua has been introducing goalkeepers almost every year in recent years, including some young goalkeepers Chen Zhao, Ma Zhen, Xue Qinghao, etc., at least from the current situation, these small goals are embarrassing, and Chen Zhao has left the team. Whether it is the internal mining of the echelon or the introduction of new signings from other teams, if Shenhua wants to have a stable performance on the defensive end, it still needs to add a goalkeeper with a certain strength in the short term, as a substitute for Zeng Cheng, in case of unforeseen needs, in order to avoid the ups and downs of the team's defensive performance.