There is no winning team in the Chinese Super League! The West Coast Half went crazy as the 19-year-old saved the harbor

Reporter Chen Yong reports After a 3-3 draw away at Qingdao West Coast, leaders Shanghai Port ended their winning streak of the season, leaving the Chinese Super League without a winning streak after only reaching the third round. On the other hand, although the result of the draw with the leader is worth congratulating, Qingdao West Coast, which has twice led by two goals in the course of the game, is somewhat regrettable.

In the first two rounds of the Chinese Super League, the performance of both teams was very good, and Shanghai Port won two consecutive games at home, which is the only team in the Chinese Super League to win two consecutive games, which also shows the fierceness and cruelty of the Chinese Super League. Qingdao West Coast drew with Qingdao Manatee away and won Wuhan Three Towns at home, accumulating 4 points and ranking at the top of the standings.

The starting lineup of Qingdao West Coast in this game is goalkeeper Li Hao, defenders Zhao Hongluo, Richelli, Sun Jie and Zhang Chengdong, midfielders He Longhai, Xu Bin, Mateus, Davidson and Zhang Xiuwei, and striker Aziz. As far as this lineup is concerned, the backline is dominated by veterans, Zhang Chengdong and Zhao Hongluo are both veterans of 89 years, Sun Jie is also 33 years old, only Richley is 27 years old, and the average age is as high as 33 years old. There are more young people in the midfield, including Xu Bin, who is under 21 years old, and He Longhai, who is 23 years old.

Qingdao West Coast opened with high pressure, and it was precisely under the pressure of Qingdao West Coast that Shanghai Port was full of mistakes and omissions: only 9 minutes into the opening, Yan Junling's pass to defender Yousa was stealed, and Mateus easily pushed the goal; Ten minutes later, it was Harbour again who was tackled at the back, and Davidson broke the ball to assist Aziz to open the scoring. Such a start made everyone stunned. Obviously, Shanghai Port did not get into the rhythm of the game at all, and West Coast, did not waste such opportunities.

Although the 2005 Haigang youngster Li Xinxiang cut the goal in the 25th minute to pull a goal back for the visiting team, but in the first half of stoppage time, it was another midfield mistake by the harbor, Xu Bin broke the ball and sent a precise through stop, Aziz shook the defender and easily scored, and Qingdao West Coast led 3-1 at halftime.

The crazy first half also gave great encouragement to the West Coast fans on the scene, but in the second half, as the players' physical fitness declined, the West Coast's high pressing could not be maintained, and the game gradually entered the rhythm controlled by Shanghai Port. However, this time it was still the teenager Li Xinxiang who stepped forward, he assisted Gustavo and Leonardo to score in the 56th and 83rd minutes of the game, respectively, to chase the score to a 3-3 draw, with his 2 passes and 1 shot, Harbour was also able to escape.

According to OPTA statistics, Li Xinxiang, aged 19 years and 118 days, became the youngest player to score and assist in a single Super League game since records began in the 2012 season, and the previous record holder was Wang Tong (19 years and 132 days) of Shandong Taishan. The youngster's performance was truly eye-catching, and his role in Harbour's three goals reflected the different characteristics of daring, teamwork and positive movement, and more importantly, it was only his Super League debut. Prior to that, in the 2024 season, he represented Shanghai Port B in the Chinese Second League.

On the west coast of Qingdao, the double back combination of Mateus and Xu Bin performed well, strongly supporting the midfield, and Zhang Xiuwei in front of them was relatively easy to control the game. In attack, the 34-year-old Davidson was outstanding, his pace and peak form had dropped, but his excellent ability to read the game and dribble through completely broke down the right side of the Harbour defence; On the other side, He Longhai dared to fight and also had a good performance. In addition to his very good scoring ability, he also became the key fulcrum of Qingdao West Coast's frontcourt, and in this game, his 77th minute exit was also one of the reasons why Qingdao West Coast fell into passivity.

This game, for Qingdao West Coast, is definitely a gratifying result, after all, if they can beat Harbour in an upset, they can even reach the top of the standings after this match day. The current problem of Qingdao West Coast is still at the defensive level, the older defensive line will have a lack of physical fitness in the second half, and then there will be mistakes, for the aging of the defensive line, Shao Jiayi may need to give two veterans with young players, orderly rotation.