Chapter Eighty-Seven All for the AFC Champions League

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  Such a score seems accidental, but after careful analysis, it is almost inevitable. Once the Shanghai Flower team falls behind by a large margin, they will not care about defense, and how many goals the opponent scores depends on their ability to grasp opportunities. Gao Jun is unmatched in this aspect. Facing the Shanghai Flower team that no longer defends, theoretically, he can score more than ten goals in one game, and in fact, if Coach Xu hadn't substituted him early, the result of this game would have been even more frightening.

  Apart from Gao Jun, Li Bei's ability to grasp opportunities has also surpassed that of any other player in the domestic league, and Du Wei's heading ability is also among the best in the country. Therefore, even after Gao Jun left the field, Dongfang team's ability to seize opportunities remains unmatched...

  The move by Xu to substitute Gao Lin and Li Ke with two sharp knives in advance also inevitably sparked controversy among fans, with a small number of extreme fans who have moral洁癖 or have been looking at him with disapproval accusing the Oriental team of playing fake football. For a time, it put pressure on the Oriental team. However, because Chinese people generally sympathize with the weak and understand what is meant by "香火之情", Xu's move to show mercy was still widely understood by most fans and media. Moreover, substituting main players with a large lead to conserve energy and avoid injury is also a common practice in football powerhouses around the world. Therefore, the Oriental team did not receive any punishment as a result...

  The victory in the same-city derby not only boosted the morale of Dongfang's young players, but also allowed the team to catch up with Dalian Shide, who were ranked first in the Super League, and overtake them by virtue of a better goal difference, rising to the top spot in the league table for the first time. If it weren't for the huge difficulties of competing on multiple fronts, Coach Xu might have set his sights even higher, perhaps even aiming for a "triple crown" this season...

  In the seventh round of the Chinese Super League, Dongfang team, which has replaced more than half of its main players, relied on Ribery's goal to win 1-0 away against Wuhan Guanggu team, their old opponent from last year's China League One (which is no longer called Huangtuliou team), and continued to lead the Chinese Super League standings.

  The next two games were only 4 days apart, but fortunately they were both home games, so Xu Genbao decided to send the main players on as much as possible. On May 7th, in the eighth round of the Chinese Super League, Shanghai East Asia team played against Qingdao Zhongneng at home. In the unfavorable situation where the opponent was defending their penalty area, Gao Jun, who had just returned to the field, helped the team win 2-0 with his outstanding performance of one shot and one pass. However, from his less than 5000 meters of running distance throughout the game, it was clear that Gao Jun did not exert himself fully in this match, because there was another life-and-death battle in the AFC Champions League four days later. Although Shanghai East Asia team is currently in a good position in the group stage, the ups and downs of young players' conditions are still a big hidden danger. If they lose to Kawasaki Frontale at home, there may be a risk of capsizing, which Gao Jun did not want to see happen no matter what.

  However, Ko Takahashi's mood was obviously much more relaxed than that of the Yokohama team, which had to win away from home against the Eastern team and could not afford a small victory in order to grasp the opportunity to advance. But the counterattack of the Eastern team was really too terrible, so in this game, the Yokohama Waterfront team faced an embarrassing situation where "pressing forward is seeking death, shrinking back is waiting for death." Nevertheless, Ko Takahashi was after all a very experienced coach and finally managed to come up with what seemed like the best possible plan...

  "Luckily, Caballero made a crucial interception. If that pass had gone through, it would have been a one-on-one situation. It's clear that the Eastern team's lineup is still too young and lacks experience. They were somewhat unprepared for Yokohama F. Marinos' sudden rapid attack at the start of the game. Fortunately, the Eastern team's backline has an experienced veteran in charge." Liu Jianhong from CCTV-5 commented with a hint of criticism.

  However, the near-loss this time made the Oriental team's players focus one by one, and Gao Jun himself took the ball forward again. Obviously, after discovering that his height had reached 1.75 meters and his weight exceeded 68 kilograms a week ago, Gao Jun's confidence in physical confrontation has increased significantly. Of course, the Japanese defender's strength is generally not strong, and the style of play is not too rough, which is also an important reason. Gao Jun's growth period is not over yet, and necessary caution is still needed. If this game was against the Korean team, he might not have done so.

  If Gao Lin only makes runs without the ball, Kawasaki Frontale can use their superior midfield control to cut off passes from his teammates. However, when he brings the ball forward himself, not assigning a specific player to mark him won't work. This is exactly what Gao Lin aims for with his dribbling - he doesn't actually want to beat multiple players and shoot into the box, but rather force Japan to change their defensive strategy, exposing more and bigger gaps...

  "Gao Jun used different parts of his body to change the way he dribbled, shifting the defender's center of gravity. However, the opponent was not tall and had a stable center of gravity, and did not fall for it. Another Japanese player approached, Gao Jun must quickly pass the ball out, or else he would be surrounded...". Liu Jianhong explained a few sentences with some anxiety, suddenly his voice became excited, "Gao Jun made a mistake in passing? No, no, Gao Jun's target was not Yu Hai, but Rong Huang, the left back who had already started to accelerate forward. Wide field of vision! Beautiful pass! Rong Huang's insertion was very timely, he has caught up with the ball and did not let it roll out of bounds. Rong Huang's speed is fast, he has penetrated Japan's entire defense line, now no matter how he passes the ball, it will not be offside, and he can also shoot himself..."

  However, because the shooting was always unreliable, Rong Huang didn't dare to take it himself and instead pretended to shoot, luring the Yokohama goalkeeper to rush over and block him. Then he passed the ball back to Gao Jun, who was distracted by two Japanese players' small movements and didn't have a clear shot, so he simply let the ball go, giving Ribeiro an opportunity to score from behind. But surprisingly, Ribeiro, who usually had a good grasp of opportunities, missed the shot. Even Liu Jianhong couldn't help but feel regretful, saying "This is an opportunity that's harder to miss than to make! I think Gao Jun should not be influenced by public opinion in the future. If he has a better chance of scoring himself, why pass the ball? A shooter is supposed to be a bit selfish!"