On the night of November 27th, the clock struck 18:00 as the fifth round of the East Asian Champions League Elite League was in full swing, with Shanghai Shenhua challenging Gwangju FC away from home.
At the beginning of the game, Shenhua fell into a passive situation, the offensive end of no rules, the core of the midfield Malelai even received a yellow card warning, only one shot on goal in the whole game, half-time, the two sides to 0-0 handshake.
In the second leg of the match, substitute Hil Asani broke the deadlock for Gwangju FC in just one minute, and despite Shenhua's all-out counterattack, they were unable to find a breakthrough. In the end, Shenhua lost 0-1 to Gwangju FC, becoming the only Chinese Super League team to lose in this round of the AFC Elite League.
In this matchup, Gwangju FC played in a 442 formation with a total starting player value of 4.2 million euros, while Shanghai Shenhua played in a 4312 formation with a starting player value of 6.1 million euros.
However, the reason for Shanghai Shenhua's defeat in this seemingly evenly matched match is clear to see. Once they were not behind, Shenhua lost their desire to fight, and relied on long passes and lack of tactical coordination on the offensive end. Despite the fairness of the referee's decision, Shenhua's loss was completely self-inflicted. The team's attack had no core, no organization, no direct plugs, and after midfielder Manafa came on as a substitute, Shenhua made a slight breakthrough on the side road, but overall, as the runner-up in the Chinese Super League, Shenhua does have a shortcoming in technical and tactical level. This 0-1 loss was a fluke for Shenhua.
In this round of the AFC Elite League, Shanghai Seaport and Shandong Taishan both won successfully, only Shanghai Shenhua had a hard time. In terms of statistics, both sides had similar possession rates, with Gwangju FC controlling 56% of the ball, taking 8 shots on goal and hitting 3. Shenhua took 6 shots on goal and hit 2. However, behind the figures, Shenhua had problems in the offense.
To become a strong team, Shanghai Shenhua must solve the problem at the offensive end. You can't wait until you're behind in every game to fight, the offense should have its own style and rules, and adhere to the tactical implementation. At the same time, the foreign aid strength is not enough, also need to be adjusted.
