Reporter Chen Yong reports With a healthy front trident of Cressan, Zeka and Kazaishvili, Choi Kang-hee finally didn't have to be as aggressive as he did in last season's AFC Champions League: in the first half of this game, Taeje's frantic attack scored three goals and eventually beat Gwangju FC 3-1.

32,867 fans witnessed the game of the Taishan team in the cold rain, which fully demonstrated the importance of Taishan fans to the AFC Champions League, which is in line with the great importance of the Taishan team to the AFC Champions League. This victory is also the first victory in the foreign war of Chinese football in 2025.

The starting lineup of the Taishan team in this game is goalkeeper Wang Dalei; defenders Liu Yang, Shi Ke, Kazar, Gao Zhunyi; In the back, Peng Xinli and Huang Zhengyu, the attacking combination of Xie Wenneng, Kazaishvili, Cressan and Zeka in the front court are Xie Wenneng, Kazaishvili, Cressan and Zeka. Zheng Zheng did not enter the game list because of injury, and Li Yuanyi missed the game because of suspension.

Although only one warm-up game was played in the entire preparation period, the Taishan team quickly entered the state after the opening, and also practiced the aggression that assistant coach Tang Tian said before the game, and the whole team used crazy pressing to win offensive opportunities, but unfortunately, Taishan was unable to grasp the first two excellent opportunities, including a hit to the post.

But the Taishan team was not affected, and was still attacking frantically and scoring goals in a row: in the 16th minute, Zeka wiped the cross of the opponent's defender, and Kazaishvili lightly stopped the ball and swept the goal, and the Taishan team led 1-0; In the 32nd minute, Cressan's delicate outside instep cross, Zeka followed up with a header, and the Taishan team led 2-0. Unfortunately, the Tarzan team then unfortunately conceded the ball due to the interference between the players.

In the stoppage time of the first half, the Taishan team, which was continuously suppressed by the opponent in a short period of time, completed the counterattack, and a wave of continuous attacks finally led by Cressan in front of the goal, rewriting the score to 3-1! In this half, Taeje team, although slightly lower in possession, had much more shots on goal and shots on target than Gwangju FC.

In the second half, the Taishan team continued the scramble of the first half, while constantly maintaining the physical fitness on the field through substitutions. In the game, Lu Yongtao, Madruga, Wu Xinghan, Chen Pu and other players all played. Among them, after Madruga's appearance, the Taishan team ushered in a long-lost five foreign aid joint appearances, in the 2024 season of the Chinese Super League, the Taishan team used to be the first in the Chinese Super League team foreign aid playing time cliff-like, this season, this situation should no longer exist. In the second half, both sides did not score, and the Tarzans finally won the 2025 season with a score of 3-1.

It is worth noting that after the game, the whole team of Gwangju FC also thanked the Taejeong fans, to which Gwangju FC coach Lee Jung-hyo said: "This is what I told the players that we have the responsibility and obligation to thank the fans, even if it is an away game. It's what the fans deserve, they come to watch the game even if it's raining. Including at our home stadium, we will also thank the visiting fans. ”

In this game, the most commendable nature of the Taishan team is its mental outlook, every inch of land in the game must be contested, every ball must be fought, the team's aggressiveness is vividly displayed, including the goal lost by the Taishan team in the first half, although the players interfere with each other, but from another side reflects the player's sense of responsibility.

Behind the fighting spirit is the Taishan team's consistent attention to the AFC Champions League, which has become the consensus of the Taishan team and Taishan fans in the past ten years.

From a technical and tactical point of view, the Taishan team is also more suitable for the AFC Champions League in terms of playing style: in terms of lineup, the current front field trident of the Taishan team is first-class among the Chinese Super League teams, and they also scored a goal each in this game, while assisting each other; In terms of tactics, the Taishan team is fighting and counterattacking, which is more effective in the AFC Champions League, and at the same time, this style of play also avoids the disadvantages of insufficient warm-up matches during the preparation period to the greatest extent; From the manager's point of view, Choi Kang-hee's control of the AFC Champions League has always been online.

Assistant coach Tang Tian, who attended the post-game press conference, also said: Fifteen years are all new years, and we will have a New Year. Special thanks to the fans who came on a rainy night, they are the people who really love this team and their support is a very, very big motivation for us to win. The head coach of Gwangju, like Director Choi, is a strong thinker, I am open, you are free. Today's win is also a win for our support system, the club supports us, the players support the coaching staff unconditionally, the staff give silently, the players deserve this great victory, it is our great support system that helps us win the victory. We can only celebrate one night and tomorrow we will be ready to get a perfect result. ”

At the same time, Tang Tian said that Madeuga and Ghazar have exceeded the expectations of the coaching staff, while Cressan said that they are also very potential players and are very happy to have five foreign players to help the team, which will be very helpful in improving our victory and win rate.

After this victory, Shandong Taishan team reached 10 points and ranked sixth, of which Johor DT also won the game and ranked fifth with 11 points, Pohang Steelers and Shanghai Port lost with 9 and 8 points respectively, ranking seventh and eighth, and Buriram United with 8 points and Shanghai Shenhua with 7 points have not yet played this round. As far as the qualifying situation is concerned, the Taishan team is relatively optimistic, but it still needs to score points in the final round.