Forward foreign players suffer consecutive injuries + two key rookies will miss the next round, Shanghai Port faces personnel challenges in the final stage

Special Contributor / Li Yun Before the 28th round of the Chinese Super League, Shanghai Port stood at 60 points, holding the top position in the standings, ahead of Chengdu Rongcheng and Shanghai Shenhua by 2 and 3 points respectively. With three matches left, their opponents include Shandong Taishan, Zhejiang, and Dalian Yifang. The away game against Shandong Taishan was seen as the biggest hurdle for Shanghai Port in the closing stages. Due to unexpected injuries, Shanghai Port failed to overcome Shandong Taishan, conceding a 3-1 comeback after initially scoring first, making their title race much more difficult.

Before this match, outsiders were skeptical about Shanghai Port escaping Jinan unscathed. This season, the team lost three key players — Oscar, Wu Lei, and Vargas — resulting in a clear decline in their core strength. In the first half of the season, they struggled to win against strong teams like Beijing Guoan, Chengdu Rongcheng, Shanghai Shenhua, and Shandong Taishan. Although their form improved significantly in the second half, with consecutive away wins over Guoan and Shenhua, they were completely overwhelmed by Chengdu Rongcheng’s powerful and aggressive style on the road. Since Han Peng took charge, Shandong Taishan’s overall performance has notably improved, featuring technically skilled and physically impactful foreign players in midfield and attack. Playing away, Shanghai Port was well aware that earning points would be extremely challenging.

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Considering the importance of this match, Muscat changed his usual routine by arriving in Jinan a day early for final preparations; however, sudden injuries caught the team off guard. On the day before the match, both Gabriel and Jiang Guangtai missed training. Gabriel suffered an injury during the morning session on the day the team traveled to Jinan and was not included in the match squad. Jiang Guangtai had a cold and fever but eventually reached Jinan, was listed in the squad, and came on as a substitute in the 68th minute. His performance was clearly affected, and within 10 minutes of his entry, two Shandong Taishan foreign players combined to score a goal, leading to Shanghai Port’s eventual 3-1 defeat.

Adding to the misfortunes, before the first half ended, the only foreign forward for Shanghai Port, Leonardo, suffered a muscle strain and signaled to be substituted. As the first half was nearing its end, to save a substitution, Leonardo had to continue playing injured, but while receiving a ball inside the penalty area, he collapsed again due to weakness in his thigh muscles.

After halftime, Muscat replaced Leonardo with Kuai Jiwen. With no center forward available, Liu Ruofan was pushed into the striker position, but the player appeared uncomfortable, and the team’s attacking threat significantly diminished. The team struggled to win positions in the middle, and the flanks lacked support. With reduced pressure, Shandong Taishan was able to fully unleash their attack, completely controlling the tempo of the game for a period.

With no options up front, in the final ten minutes and trailing by two goals, Muscat brought on the long-absent Feng Jin, Lü Wenjun, and Li Shenglong to boost attacking pressure. However, the players clearly could not meet his expectations, and the situation on the pitch saw little improvement.

Five days later, Shanghai Port will host Zhejiang at home. The team faces further personnel shortages as Li Xinxiong and Kuai Jiwen, two important young players who have played significant roles this season, will fly directly to Shenzhen after this round to prepare for the U20 men’s football event at the National Games, and will definitely miss the October 31 match.

After the game, Leonardo and Shandong’s foreign players chatted warmly in the stadium tunnel. When asked about his injury, Leonardo pointed to the muscles near his right knee, indicating a muscle problem. He can walk normally but clearly cannot put strength on his right leg. The initial assessment suggests the injury is not severe, but further examination is needed to determine the final condition. Whether he can play against Zhejiang on the 31st remains uncertain. Gabriel is also likely to miss that match.

In a post-match interview, Muscat expressed pride in the team’s performance: “Despite some injury issues before the game, we showed very good qualities in the first half. The second half brought some difficulties, but the players gave their best.”

Captain Wang Shenchao said: “The league is a long journey, and every team has to face injury problems. We don’t have time to be disappointed or regretful now. In the last two rounds, all we can do is focus on ourselves and leave the rest to fate.”