Soccer News: Confronting Shenhua, Harbor Needs to Solve These Two Issues

On September 25, the FA Cup semi-final will see Shanghai Harbor host Shanghai Shenhua at home.

The Soccer News wrote that every match in September for Harbor has been a tough one, making each step fraught with danger. However, they have no time to catch their breath as another major battle looms ahead – before the fourth Shanghai Derby, head coach Muscat and his players must first address issues of mentality and defense.

Yatai Creates Troubles

Returning from the AFC Champions League to the Chinese Super League (CSL), Harbor’s preparations over the past few days have not been easy. Firstly, due to the impact of two typhoons, training was less systematic than expected. To save time, Harbor conducted their training at Century Park Base on Friday morning and then took a bus directly to the airport after the session, heading to Changchun for an away game. Upon arrival in Changchun, many players commented on the significant temperature difference compared to Shanghai, requiring adjustments. Back in the familiar CSL, Harbor fielded five foreign players in the starting lineup against Yatai, led by the familiar face of Xie Hui. Although Harbor won, it was not as convincingly as their first meeting this season.

At the start of the match, Yatai pressed forward but failed to find good opportunities. Instead, Harbor seized the chance to score twice. With no way out, Yatai utilized swift transitions and immediate pressing to create scoring chances, resulting in three goals within the first 16 minutes. While the score suggested Harbor was significantly stronger overall, compared to their previous dominance, they appeared somewhat sluggish. Particularly in the second half, Yatai scored through a long pass and a cross by Beric, which penetrated Harbor’s defense, allowing Tan Long to face the goalkeeper and score easily, reducing the deficit to one goal. Five minutes later, Yatai scored again, equalizing the match at 3-3. Thankfully, Wu Lei scored twice, otherwise, Harbor would have struggled to leave with all three points.

Notably, seeing the situation turn critical, head coach Muscat dared not easily change the main attacking lineup. He had originally planned to rotate key players to prepare for the upcoming FA Cup semi-final, but given the importance of points in the CSL, he had no choice.

Immediate Return to Prepare for FA Cup

After defeating Yatai, Harbor maintained their lead at the top of the CSL table with a two-point advantage, followed closely by their city rivals, Shenhua. This season, Harbor has been unstoppable, not only securing the top spot in the CSL standings but also breaking the league’s consecutive win record. The only regret is their inferiority against their city rivals Shenhua, having drawn once and lost twice in their three meetings this season. The two teams will meet again in the FA Cup semi-final for their fourth derby this week.

After the match against Yatai, to avoid delays, Harbor chose to return to Shanghai overnight. In the following days, they will conduct final preparations at the Century Park Training Base. Given that they have met three times this season, both sides are well aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

It is understood that Muscat focused on physical recovery and mental adjustment during training. Additionally, due to the heavy investment in offense, there may be issues in defense, increasing the likelihood of being caught off guard. Muscat will also address the problems arising in defense internally.

From the AFC Elite League match against Johor, Harbor indeed faced difficulties in attack and efficiency when facing strong teams and those with solid defenses. However, most of the time, the attack-oriented Muscat could find breakthroughs within his tactical system. The real problem lies in Harbor’s defense, which Muscat needs to address seriously. For example, against Johor’s aggressive pressing and accurate long passes, Harbor had limited options, and several threatening attacks from the opponent came from this. Similarly, in the previous derby loss to Shenhua, their weakness was evident.

Interestingly, with the single-match elimination format, both coaches engaged in “psychological warfare” pre-game, but the extent of its impact remains unknown.