On the 23rd, the AFC Champions League was in full swing, and Seaport defeated Central Coast Mariners in the third round with a thrilling 3-2 victory, ushering in the first win of the season. The reporter of Sports Weekly, Ma Dexing, pointed out in his report that Harbor's lineup adjustment in this game was quite far-sighted.
Seaport and Central Coast Mariners showdown, the team bold lineup rotation, in addition to goalkeeper Yan Junling, center back Wei Zhen, midfielder Oscar and striker Gustavo and other core players, plus the return of Wu Lei from injury, the rest of the rotation of newcomers. This is this season's AFC Champions League Shanghai Port team the largest scale of a rotation.
Behind the passive substitutions was the absence of Roussa due to an additional suspension, forcing Harbour to find another way. The active rotation, on the other hand, was due to the fact that key players such as Vargas and Chitardini were placed on the bench for this match.
At the beginning of the match, Seaport's rotation strategy was effective, and even outperformed the starting lineup in terms of high-pressure pressing and quick counter-attacking in front of the field. It was a smart move by Harbor to face a weak opponent.
The Super League title race has entered a white-hot stage, and Seaport did not rotate its lineup in the duel with Rongcheng, and the eventual loss triggered a heated debate: why didn't Seaport make personnel adjustments when the schedule was so tight? In fact, Seaport is not unwilling to rotate, but due to the tense situation of the championship, especially in the case of the parallel Asian Championship, they had to send the strongest lineup to deal with the key battle.
Nowadays, the AFC Champions League and the Chinese Super League are not synchronized, and the AFC Champions League is still in its early stages while the domestic league is nearing its end. Therefore, it is not wrong for the harbor to focus on the domestic league for the time being. By the same token, it would be reasonable for Shenhua to make lineup adjustments at this stage. Neither Harbor nor Shenhua should be accused of being "strong domestically and weak internationally" at this moment.
On the contrary, Taishan, who played all their starters against Yokohama Marinos and fielded substitutes in last weekend's league match, seems to have something to do with the fact that they have no hope of winning the Chinese Super League and even qualifying for the AFC Champions League next season is at stake. With the domestic league format unchanged, it's normal for Super League teams to make adjustments according to the actual situation, and there's no need to panic over one or two wins or losses.
