Yu Hanchao: To win the championship, both body and mind must be pushed to the limit!

Special Contributor / Gan Hui Amazing! Legendary! No expression can truly describe Yu Hanchao’s impact and importance to Shenhua.

On the night of the 23rd, playing away against Qingdao Hainiu, who are second from the bottom in the league table and facing relegation, Shenhua struggled to find a breakthrough. With foreign forwards Andre and Asue already substituted off, it was Yu Hanchao who once again unlocked the door to victory and hope for the team. Later, Liu Chengyu added a finishing touch to seal the win, and Shenhua finally secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory.

Previously, Yu Hanchao was usually brought on only in the final moments, but this time he was subbed in at halftime. After the match, Slutsky even said it was “already the limit of Yu Hanchao’s personal stamina.” If Shenhua wants to win the championship, in the last 8 rounds, the burden cannot fall solely on Yu Hanchao!

After the regular 90 minutes ended with a 0-0 scoreline, Slutsky’s face clearly showed his anxiety. However, after making four substitutions, it seemed Slutsky was powerless to change the situation and could only place his hopes on the players on the field.

The team had already gone three rounds without a win, losing the top spot on the points table. If they failed to secure this match, it would be a major blow to morale and significantly impact their title chances.

In a critical moment, Yu Hanchao stepped up again. During the second half injury time, at the 94th minute, he demonstrated excellent goal-scoring instincts by capitalizing on a cross from Chen JinYi, beating two Qingdao defenders, and scoring.

This was a golden goal. After scoring, Shenhua finally relieved their heavy burden and quickly scored a second goal. At the 98th minute, Teixeira dribbled to the edge of the opponent’s penalty area and passed to Liu Chengyu, who calmly put the ball into the net, effectively ending the match.

With a 2-0 win, Shenhua earned a tough 3 points in Qingdao. Slutsky said, “We didn’t perform well in the first half today. At halftime, both Li Ke and Andre showed injury symptoms, so we had to make adjustments. I think the team played very well in the second half and fought hard until injury time without giving up. The two late goals might have involved some luck, but I believe we deserved today’s victory.”

The “necessary adjustments” Slutsky mentioned also included the return of Teixeira, who missed the previous match due to accumulating four yellow cards. Captain Wu Xi was injured and not in the squad, so Xu Haoyang took his place. Facing unexpected injuries on the field, Slutsky substituted Yu Hanchao, Amadou, and Yang Haoyu for Andre Luis, Li Ke, and Xu Haoyang at halftime.

Although Shenhua secured the 3 points and increased their league tally to 49, temporarily overtaking Shanghai Port (who have played one less match, with their game against Tianjin Jinmen Tiger scheduled for today) to reclaim first place, the match revealed some problems in Shenhua’s attack. The two foreign forwards, Asue and Andre, lacked coordination and mostly played individually. Football is a team sport; without good cooperation and collective effort, it becomes much harder. Besides, both forwards are system-oriented, and Shenhua’s attack currently lacks impact and speed.

The sum of one plus one is less than two; the two forwards have also gone several matches without scoring from open play. At the post-match press conference, when asked if he would consider more forward combinations in the future, Slutsky said: “Yu Hanchao performed excellently today. Although we usually use him only in the last 20 to 25 minutes, today’s 45 minutes was already the limit of his stamina. We have been closely monitoring Liu Chengyu during training; his playing time depends on his training condition and performance. For me, starting lineup decisions are based solely on players’ training performances.”

After defeating Qingdao Hainiu, Shenhua finally ended their recent three-match winless streak and halted their decline. In the next round, Shenhua will face their last of three consecutive away matches — against Wuhan Three Towns. After the game, Yu Hanchao candidly stated, “Honestly, it’s normal for everyone to feel pressure, and there’s no need to hide it. But if we want to reach our goal, we must overcome this pressure. No matter the difficulties, injuries, or mental stress, we have to conquer them under these circumstances.”

From once leading by 6 points to falling behind by 1 point after the last round, Shenhua no longer has room for error and must give their all to win matches. In Yu Hanchao’s words, it might require stripping a layer off both body and mind: “We can’t afford any mistakes now. At this stage of the league, from rounds 20 to 30, the last 10 matches are all tough battles, all finals. We must prepare for every challenge. I often talk with the players — to win the championship, both body and mind must be pushed to the limit, so we must be ready in every aspect.”