Six consecutive unbeaten matches propel Shenhua into top eight, showcasing two encouraging transformations.

Special contribution by Gan Hui. Following the victory in the "Shanghai Derby," Shenhua continued their positive momentum. In the sixth league round against the newly promoted Liaoning Iron Man at home, they netted three goals in the first half, securing an early lead and finishing with a 3-1 win.

Starting from the fourth round with a comeback victory against Tianjin Jinmen Tiger away, Shenhua has achieved three consecutive wins. Despite beginning with a -10 point penalty, they now hold 4 points from 4 wins and 2 draws after six matches, climbing to eighth place in the standings—the highest among penalized teams. This also indicates that Shenhua's overall performance in the league's opening phase this season has been quite impressive.

In the post-match press conference last night, head coach Slutsky summarized, "Everyone can feel the significant toll on the team after an intense Derby match. This game was a very open contest, with both sides creating numerous opportunities. Fortunately, we capitalized on more of them. Holding a three-goal advantage in the second half, we made substantial adjustments and then adopted a stable defensive counter-attack strategy to manage the opponent, ultimately securing the victory."

As Slutsky noted, Liaoning Iron Man had plenty of chances. Post-match statistics show: Shenhua versus Iron Man had a shot ratio of 19 vs 18, and shots on target ratio of 8 vs 9. Based solely on these figures, the offensive efforts were comparable. However, the final score was 3-1, with Shenhua establishing dominance in the first half and gaining a three-goal lead.

After the match, Liaoning Iron Man's head coach Li Jinyu highlighted the main reason for this disparity: "The quality of Shenhua's players in key positions is indeed considerably higher than ours. I also wish Shanghai Shenhua success in their upcoming matches."

What Li Jinyu referred to is essentially the forwards' ability to seize opportunities. In this match, Latang demonstrated exceptional effectiveness in converting chances. In the 8th minute, he cleverly positioned himself for a rebound and scored, helping Shenhua break the deadlock. After Jin Shunkai's goal, Latang added another through a brilliant combination with Gaye.

Over the first six league rounds, Shenhua's foreign striker scoring rate is relatively high across the entire Chinese Super League. So far, Latang has scored 7 goals, Gaye 2 goals and 2 assists. Together, Latang and Gaye have contributed 9 goals, accounting for about 64% of the team's total goals—a significant improvement compared to last season's foreign forward scoring rate. Notably, Latang leads the scorer chart with 7 goals.

Gaye's goal tally has been somewhat affected by injury setbacks, but as his condition gradually recovers, he is increasingly showing his value and impact. Slutsky stated, "Gaye did not score but provided an assist; I believe his performance was very good."

For any team, having a forward line that can consistently and steadily deliver output is crucial and forms the foundation for achieving good results. Shenhua experienced this deeply last season.

Of course, while scoring upfront is vital, defending solidly is equally important. In this match, despite Liaoning Iron Man having numerous opportunities, they only managed to score one goal near the end, largely thanks to Xue Qinghao's outstanding saves. Throughout the game, Xue Qinghao made 7 saves. From the match observation, whether in reflexes on the line or timing in出击, Xue Qinghao has shown considerable progress.

Last season, Slutsky rarely utilized all five substitution slots. This season, he has adapted, and in last night's match, he exhausted all five substitution adjustments by the 73rd minute.

During the game, Slutsky's substitutions were relatively early and substantial. After halftime, he replaced midfield core Teixeira, who had just returned from injury in the previous "Shanghai Derby." The second substitution occurred at 67 minutes, a typical adjustment window for Slutsky, where he brought in Liu Chengyu and Yang Haoyu for Gaye and Gao Tianyi. However, just six minutes later, Slutsky substituted Xu Haoyang and Yang Zexiang for Latang and Manafa. Thus, all five substitution slots were fully utilized. For the subsequent twenty-plus minutes, Shenhua fielded an "all-local" lineup against Liaoning Iron Man.

When asked about the consideration behind the "all-local" lineup in the latter part of the second half, Slutsky explained, "I do not focus on whether players are foreign or domestic when making substitutions; instead, I consider the needs of the match situation and the players' conditions. In our team, there is no distinction between foreign and domestic players in terms of my tactical arrangements."

Next week, the Chinese Super League will encounter its first double-match week of the new season, making such extensive rotation quite necessary. This season, substitute players have significantly improved their form and performance as their playing time increased. In the match against Tianjin Jinmen Tiger, substitute Xie Pengfei became one of the key figures in turning the game around. In recent matches, with Li Ke and Wu Qipeng both injured, Wang Haijian has effectively fulfilled his role. The league consists of 30 rounds spanning several months; the combat effectiveness of the substitute squad also largely determines how far a team can ultimately go.