Special contribution by Shen Jun The Liaoning Ironman team, with foreign players valued at 10.5 million euros, had an unfavorable start in their CSL debut, suffering a complete 3-0 defeat away to Shandong Taishan in Jinan. This match exposed the磨合 problems of the new CSL team, with several strong foreign players performing below expectations. After the match, head coach Li Jinyu直言: "We are a new team in the CSL, after all, we need to learn through some lessons." In the next round, Liaoning Ironman will face their old rival from the China League One, Chongqing Tongliang Long, away.

Problems erupted集中 in the debut

Before the match, Liaoning Ironman attracted much attention due to the label of "the CSL team with the highest-valued foreign players." During the winter transfer window, the team brought in two star foreign players: Jefinho, the 'dribbling king' from the Brazilian league, and Swedish international瓦吉奇. They retained three capable foreign players: Mbunza, the China League One top scorer;邦本宜裕, the top assist provider; and Felipe, the Brazilian midfield anchor.加上港澳台 player An Yien, they formed a strong squad. However, from the first round's实战来看, the磨合 degree and immediate战斗力 of the豪华阵容 did not meet the requirements of the CSL arena.

Throughout the match, Liaoning Ironman performed低迷 in both attack and defense,落后 comprehensively in core data such as shots, shot accuracy, and key passes. The低迷 performance of the foreign players was one of the core reasons for the team's loss. As the边路核心, Jefinho had only one standout moment in the entire match—a powerful shot inside the box that hit the crossbar in the 75th minute. Apart from that, he struggled to突破 Shandong Taishan's defense on the flank and failed to deliver many threatening crosses. More regrettably, this Brazilian foreign player also received a yellow card for making a讽刺 gesture towards the referee.

On the defensive line,瓦吉奇 and his teammates failed to organize a强硬 defense, conceding two goals consecutively in the 8th and 16th minutes. The corner goal conceded in the 74th minute was also due to lax marking at the front post.

Insufficient midfield control was another key reason for Liaoning Ironman's complete defeat. Brazilian midfielder Felipe, facing the midfield control of Shandong Taishan's Madruga and Li Yuanyi, had low efficiency in interceptions and tackles, unable to effectively form a midfield屏障 with his teammate严鼎皓. Veteran Li Tixiang偏向 the进攻端 throughout the match,频繁前插助攻导致 midfield防守空虚. Liaoning's ineffective midfield拦截 allowed Shandong Taishan's midfield organization to be very active, often easily delivering the ball to the front. Looking at Liaoning Ironman's midfield players for the new season, there is indeed a lack of defensive midfielders, and the squad's硬度不足. More致命的是,邦本宜裕, the top assist provider in last season's China League One, was重点盯防 by Shandong Taishan,难以传出威胁球 throughout the match, becoming an "隐形人" in the team's attack, and was eventually substituted提前 in the 46th minute.

Mbunza, who dominated in the China League One, had scarce opportunities throughout the match. Apart from a shot that hit the post in the 80th minute which was ruled offside, he几乎没有 posed any实质性威胁 to Shandong Taishan goalkeeper王大雷. Only An Yien showed the应有的活力 for the entire team,多次突破制造威胁 on the left flank,可惜队友未能及时跟进完成终结.

Liaoning Ironman's team配合默契度严重不足,攻防转换节奏缓慢, forming a鲜明对比 with Shandong Taishan's高效反击. As a promoted team, they显然还未适应 the intensity and节奏 of CSL matches, and issues with磨合 and战术体系 also erupted集中 in the first match.

After the match, Li Jinyu表示: "Because we are a new team in the CSL, including the foreign players who haven't participated in the CSL before. The CSL league is very陌生 to the Liaoning Ironman team. In this match facing a strong team like Shandong Taishan, and playing away, the players were somewhat nervous at the start. During the match process, they still showed some tactical level, some mistakes are understandable,毕竟要交些学费来适应 the CSL league."

Lower their stance, strive against opponents

On the 14th, Liaoning Ironman will挑战 another promoted team, Chongqing Tongliang Long, away. For the Ironman team, which just suffered a惨败 in their debut, this match is无疑 a "cannot afford to lose"正名之战.

In the first round of the CSL, Chongqing Tongliang龙逼平了老牌劲旅天津津门虎 away with a 0-0 draw, successfully securing their first CSL point in team history. The最大功臣 of this draw was the 19-year-old young goalkeeper Yao Haoyang, who contributed多次世界级扑救 throughout the match.

For Liaoning Ironman, in the match against Chongqing, on one hand, the team needs to quickly走出首秀惨败的阴影,重塑信心 through a victory; on the other hand, the team must解决首秀暴露的诸多问题. The磨合 of foreign players needs提速, players like Jefinho and Mbunza must deliver performances符合身价; the攻防平衡 in midfield needs重新梳理, the职责 of Felipe and Li Tixiang need明确,避免再次出现中场塌陷的情况; the coaching组也要考虑邦本宜裕若被对方针对性盯防之后,如何通过队友之间的协助去发挥他的作用.

As the CSL team with the highest-valued foreign players, Liaoning's goal is绝不仅仅是保级,更承载着 the重任 of "revitalizing Liaoning football." If they cannot全身而退 from Chongqing, then the entire team无疑将承受更大的压力.

In the second round facing Chongqing Tongliang Long, Liaoning needs to放低姿态,力拼对手,找到配合的默契,力争拿到 3 points away.