Source: Shangguan News Author: Wei Bing
It shows the nature of head coach Muscat as an "attack maniac".
Relying on Oscar's penalty kick and Vargas's successful push, Shanghai Harbor Team defeated Chengdu Rongcheng Team 2-0 in the 13th round of the Chinese Super League on May 22, and continued to rank second in the championship.
The championship after 13 rounds of the CSL.
Compared with the previous poor defense of "more goals and more goals lost" against weak teams, the Harbor Team contributed a long lost zero seal at the defense end, reflecting that the officers and men's "game attitude" has become more correct and rigorous.
At the same time, the seaport team, which led in the score, resolutely did not shrink its defense line, and still adopted the aggressive tactics of high position oppression, which also showed the nature of head coach muscat as an "attack madman".
First encounter, deep defense of the opponent
Although the team reached the end with a score of 2-0, in the technical statistics, the advantage of Shanghai Harbor Team was not obvious in fact - although the ball control rate was 60% to 40%, and the number of shots was 15 to 12, the team was 4 to 6 behind in the most important positive number of shots.
Oscar and Vargas scored goals respectively.
If Yan Junling had not played this battle almost heroically, there might have been a different trend in the ownership of the game. To achieve this, Chengdu Rongcheng Team relies on high-quality defense, and even can be called a high-quality "bus".
Muscat, the head coach of the seaport team, also praised the quality of the opponents' tightening fences after the game. "Today's game is a very different challenge for the team. The opponents have compressed the space to the limit, leaving us very little space, and their defense is very good." Xu Zhengyuan, the head coach of Chengdu Rongcheng, also affirmed his tactical layout, "Our overall preparation and game performance were good, but unfortunately we sent the penalty and the other party seized the opportunity. Our overall tactics were good, but unfortunately, if the counter attack could be more calm and hit the ball, there would be no loss. Defensive errors always exist in football, and the important thing is how to solve them after they appear."
The defense quality of Chengdu Rongcheng Team is very high.
Although Chengdu Rongcheng Team lost, this deep defense and initiative to shrink the defense space is actually the most suitable and realistic tactical configuration for the Port Team at present. Chengdu Rongcheng team sent 532 formations and five guards lined up to let the harbor team conduct in the middle and front court, firmly blocking the space at the front of the restricted area. At the same time, once the Haigang team lost the ball right due to offensive errors, Chengdu Rongcheng team immediately sent the ball to the feet of high center Felipe and forward Wei Shihao, creating one-on-one opportunities in the front court.
Data proves that Chengdu Rongcheng Team's low profile tactics are very successful. At present, they are one of the few teams that effectively limit the offensive firepower of the Harbor Team. Shanghai Derby, Shanghai Shenhua Team limited the number of shots of the Harbor Team to only two; Chengdu Rongcheng's away challenge to the seaport team, which has strong offensive firepower, can suppress the number of shots of the home team to only 4, which is enough to show that their defense quality is very high.
Correct attitude and gain zero seal again
On the whole, the attack of Shanghai Harbor Team in this battle was no longer gorgeous and smooth, but the relatively tight defense ensured a victory. In particular, goalkeeper Yan Junling has repeatedly made a mental attack, and central defenders Jiang Guangtai and Wei Zhen have worked hard to clear the encirclement. In addition, the whole team has paid more attention to defense, which ushered in a rare "zero goal" this season.
Yan Junling ushered in the 100th CSL championship.
In Muscat's view, the zero seal of this game still comes from the pressure of attack on the opponent. He said: "In the game, we are very focused on attack, and the challenges we face are different from before. The opponent's tactics are mainly defensive. When we make mistakes and switch, they give us very little space. At halftime, the coaching team hoped that the players could be more brave and aggressive in the second half. They should boldly push forward and pass the ball forward. Everyone needs to participate in the attack. In the second half, we improved in these two aspects. Sometimes a good attack is a very good defense. "
In the 2023 season, Shanghai Harbor Team was double killed by Chengdu Rongcheng Team, and the process of losing the game was almost the same: the opponent was sent off after tight defense, and the Harbor Team with more people would not enter the positional battle to break through the intensive defense, and finally was attacked by the opponent. In the 2024 season, Muscat's seaport team pays more attention to attack and has more means. Although it still has some difficulty in facing intensive defense, it has made great progress in many aspects such as match temperament and tactical configuration.
The seaport team's ability to break the dense defense needs to be further improved.
In this battle, the substitute Wang Stanley Chao ushered in the 301st game of CSL, and the club also sent him the 300th game milestone commemorative jersey before the game. After the game, Wang said bluntly that the whole team was well prepared before the game, prepared for the difficult match, and worked together to win three points. He also said, "The opponent retreats very deeply, breaking the dense defense is a difficult topic for each team, and it is also the place where the team needs to improve in the future."
Attack first, reform is still going on
After the 13th round of the Chinese Super League, the Haigang Team, which had one less match, temporarily ranked second, but still became the team with the most goals and the strongest firepower in the Chinese Super League with 39 goals. The data of more than 3 goals and more than 1 goal conceded per game also shows that Muscat's Haigang team pays attention to attack and has the obsession of "no attack or death". However, the team's technical and tactical play has not yet taken shape, and is plagued by the dense schedule and insufficient depth of the bench. In general, Muscat's offensive football building continues.
The Seaport team thanked the fans for their support after the game.
During the interval in March this year, Muscat had a discussion with Shanghai media, and he especially mentioned his tactical philosophy. "Since taking over the team, I have always believed that my tactical concepts and playing methods can be successfully implemented. The feedback given by the players, including their performance in the game, is very good. They have a strong desire to learn and absorb new playing methods, and the implementation and implementation of the players in the game is also good." Muscat said at the time that he would gradually reform the tactics, "I don't want to say that once the team takes over, they will carry out a drastic tactical transformation, showing a stubborn and arrogant side. I just want to say that the current playing method will give us the greatest possibility of success."
In this battle, Muscat's on-site command showed a high level. He first replaced Wang Shengchao and Li Shuai, who had a yellow card, to avoid the accident of a red card. After that, Feng Jin, who was fast and good at dribbling, was also ordered to enter the game. It was he who made a right attack to create a penalty after receiving the super long pass from Stanley Wang and changed the game trend. In addition, Xu Xin was arranged to replace Chitardini, which also ensured the coverage and vitality of the back waist position.
The harbor fans cheered.
Wu Lei has few chances to shoot in this battle.
"Our substitute players have had their own influence on the war situation. The substitute players should be prepared mentally and physically. Feng Jin's good state in training has given me confidence, not only him, but also Stanley Wang has stabilized the defense in the back court after he went out." Muscat recovered after the game, "Xu Xin also affected the trend of the game. It was his active pressing in the front court that made Vargas win the ball. Although Lv Wenjun played for a short time, he also made contributions, which is also the family atmosphere or mental outlook we want to build."
Muscat also paid special thanks to the fans after the game. After all, the day of the game was not a weekend, and the diehard fans needed to rush to the stadium to cheer at the first time after work. "I also want to talk about the fans. They also have an impact on the victory of the game. We rely on the fans very much. The fans are the epitome of our team. The fans are supporting us both in front of the TV and on the scene. They support the team to constantly attack and fight forward. This sense of unity is what I call the feeling of family." Muscat with high emotional intelligence is not only able to say beautiful words, but also continues to improve the team's technical and tactical style.
