Shanghai Port Unbeaten in 7 Matches, Beijing Guoan Unbeaten in 15; Shanghai Shenhua Announce Termination of Mineiro Contract

[Shanghai Port unbeaten in 7 matches]

After losing to Shandong Taishan on August 1, Shanghai Port began an unbeaten run. They defeated Chongqing Tonglianglong at home, drew 1-1 with Dalian Yingbo, beat Qingdao Hainiu 2-1 at home, drew 0-0 with Beijing Guoan, won away against Wuhan Three Towns, defeated Shenzhen 1-0, and beat Shandong Taishan 0 in the CFA Cup. Ten days later, they will visit Ratchaburi in the first round of the AFC Champions League Elite, and Shanghai Port can use seven foreign players in the AFC competition. In the new AFC Champions League Elite season, Shanghai Port's advantage in the group stage is avoiding all Japanese club teams!

[Beijing Guoan remain unbeaten in 15 matches across all competitions]

They have gone unbeaten in 12 league matches and three CFA Cup matches, leaving them one match away from matching Setien's 16-match unbeaten run last year. Last year, Setien managed well in the first half of the season, while Montgomery managed well in the second half. The difference is that Montgomery was not dismissed. They have remained unbeaten since losing to Henan on May 23. They have also achieved this while dealing with a shortage of players, with the foreign player contingent at one point reduced to just one person.

The author believes the main reason is the strong performances of the veteran players. Zhang Xizhe, Wang Gang and Hou Sen have all played pillar roles. In particular, Hou Sen has made several excellent saves against Shanghai-based teams and received praise from Shenhua coach Milorjevic. He also performed well in the match against Shanghai Port and showed strong form, but Shanghai Port's coach declined to comment on the opposing goalkeeper.

Another factor is that Beijing Guoan's attacking ability has consistently been among the top three in the Chinese Super League. After 26 rounds, they have scored 49 goals. Zhang Yuning has become the team's biggest attacking weapon, and Cédric, Fabio and Zhang Yuning have formed Beijing Guoan's new attacking trio. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Cheng Xi, 25-year-old Jia Feifan, 19-year-old Deng Jiefu and 18-year-old Jiang Zicheng have all received playing opportunities, with Montgomery's rotations giving many young players chances.

[Wei Shihao said in an interview: "The referee officiated extremely well"]

In the 26th round of the Chinese Super League, Chengdu Rongcheng were held to a 0-0 away draw by Henan, missing the chance to win the title four rounds early. After the match, Wei Shihao said in an interview, "The referee officiated extremely well; there was nothing we could do." After the match, he posted a screenshot of backstage messages on social media, saying that his and his wife's social media accounts had received a large number of critical private messages from some fans.

[Shenhua official announcement]

Terminated the contract with player Shalo Mineiro. In response, some fans said that from signing him to terminating his contract, Shenhua had also paid a considerable price. They also questioned what would happen with AFC Champions League Two, saying that Shenhua would then have four foreign players for the AFC Champions League Two competition.