September 7: Shenhua Exit FA Cup After 0-1 Upset, Concede 10 Goals in Last Three Games; Xu Jiang Highlights Foreign Player Adjustment Issue, Milojevic Could Leave Next Year

On September 5, 2026, Shanghai Shenhua head coach Milos Milojevic publicly stated at the pre-match press conference before the Chinese Super League Round 26 away game against Chongqing Tonglianglong that the team's young players had been in good training form recently and represented Shenhua's future.

At almost the same time, media personality Xu Jiang spoke out, saying that if Shenhua did not make major changes to its foreign players after the season, Milojevic could likely be replaced by the club next year.

This assessment directly highlighted Shenhua's biggest current issue: less than a month after the new coach took over, the team's tactical system has already become difficult to align with the existing foreign player setup, and the 0-1 FA Cup defeat to Dalian Yingbo, which eliminated Shenhua, exposed the cost of this mismatch.

Since officially taking charge on August 16, Milojevic has been in charge of Shenhua for less than three weeks.

The Serbian coach, who previously won league titles during two spells managing Red Star Belgrade, arrived in Shanghai with almost no complete preparation period.

When he took over, the CSL summer transfer window had already closed. The club had previously released key defensive midfielder Amadou and did not bring in a replacement of similar level, instead allocating limited foreign-player slots toward the attack and registering three foreign forwards including Mineiro and Ratan.

This squad setup differs significantly from the 4-2-3-1 system Milojevic commonly used in Europe. The midfield lacks enough defensive protection, directly leading to Shenhua conceding 10 goals in their last three league matches, averaging more than three goals conceded per game.

The August 28 home match against Shandong Taishan fully exposed Shenhua's midfield weakness.

Just nine seconds after kickoff, Shenhua conceded. Throughout the first half, opponents were almost able to move the ball through midfield without resistance, forcing young local midfielders such as Xu Haoyang to take on defensive responsibilities beyond their ability, with repeated positional mistakes leaving the back line exposed.

Shenhua eventually lost 2-3 after being overturned in that match. Although it appeared to be a problem with the forwards' finishing, the deeper issue was the complete failure of midfield coverage. Even with Milojevic repeatedly emphasizing pressing and compact formations in training, it was difficult to immediately repair the gap with the current squad structure.

Earlier, in the September 1 FA Cup quarter-final away match against Dalian Yingbo, Shenhua played with an extra man for more than 70 minutes but failed to score and was instead broken through by a penalty.

Shenhua dominated possession and had 17 shots but failed to convert them into goals. Substitute Mineiro was later sent off for a reckless foul, returning the match to a 10-against-10 situation, and Shenhua suffered a 0-1 upset elimination.

This defeat ended Shenhua's domestic title challenges in both the CSL and FA Cup this season. The original two-track target of securing league safety and competing for the cup was completely lost, leaving only the AFC Champions League Two as an official competition route.

Looking back at the timeline shows that Shenhua's difficulties did not only appear after Milojevic took charge.

At the start of the season, the Chinese Football Association deducted 10 CSL points from Shenhua, directly pushing the team from the title race into the relegation battle and completely disrupting its original season plan.

On August 2 in CSL Round 21, Shenhua lost 1-3 at home to Liaoning Tieren for a third consecutive defeat. Former coach Leonid Slutsky, who had led the team to two Super Cup titles and two consecutive CSL runner-up finishes, announced his resignation after the match, leaving with the remark that “there are some things I cannot change.”

Mao Yijun then temporarily took charge and guided the team to two straight wins, stabilizing the relegation situation temporarily, but the structural problems of insufficient midfield personnel and excessive reliance on foreign forwards in attack remained unresolved.

After taking over, Milojevic faced exactly this highly compressed situation.

His contract runs until the end of 2028. The club originally hoped he could lead a long-term squad rebuild, especially by developing the young players born after 2005 that Shenhua has promoted in recent years and building a stable new system.

Shenhua's 2026 first-team squad of 35 players includes 13 young players born between 2005 and 2007, accounting for 37 percent of the roster. The average age is 3.2 years younger than after eight non-core players left at the beginning of the year, marking the club's strongest youth promotion effort in recent years.

However, young players need time to develop, and Shenhua's current relegation situation does not allow the coaching staff to slowly experiment. The team currently has 28 points and sits ninth in the CSL table, with intense competition around the relegation zone and every league point directly affecting the final season outcome.

The more immediate conflict lies in the allocation of foreign player resources.

Shenhua used all three foreign player slots on forwards this season. While this appears to provide more attacking options, it has severely reduced foreign-player investment in midfield and defense.

By comparison, Shanghai Port won the 2024 CSL title with a midfield built around Oscar and Vargas, while this season's China League One side Dalian Yingbo moved into the upper part of the standings through the organization of midfield core Nicolae Stanciu. The competitive logic of Chinese football has not changed: midfield depth directly determines a team's defensive floor.

Shenhua's squad-building approach of concentrating resources on the forward line appeared as early as the 2012 season, when the team had two top forwards in Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka but finished only ninth in the league, narrowly avoiding relegation.

More than a decade later, a similar squad-building path has emerged again. As a coach accustomed to using midfield control to connect attack and defense, Milojevic will find it difficult to fully implement his tactical ideas under the current foreign-player structure.

The time window now facing Shenhua is already very clear.

From now until the January winter transfer window opens next year, Milojevic has only four months to both complete the remaining CSL relegation tasks and prepare for the AFC Champions League Two group stage beginning on September 17.

Shenhua's AFC Champions League Two Group G opponents include Machida Zelvia. Shenhua lost 0-2 at home to them in last season's AFC Champions League, and has lost all three recent matches against Japanese J League teams without scoring, meaning the upcoming continental campaign will also be difficult.

Milojevic has repeatedly emphasized the value of young players at pre-match press conferences, essentially trying to maintain the team's competitiveness through internal development while foreign-player adjustments remain unavailable.

The reason Xu Jiang's assessment attracted discussion is mainly related to his environment and position.

If Shenhua does not significantly adjust its foreign-player structure during the winter window, especially by adding a new midfielder with coverage and organizational ability, Milojevic's tactical system will have clear weaknesses. Once results fluctuate, as the head coach directly responsible for match outcomes, he will naturally become the first candidate to bear responsibility.

There are still more than three months before the winter window. Every league match and every squad adjustment Shenhua makes from now on will directly determine the long-term coaching space of this Serbian coach at the club.

The international friendly against Zenit Saint Petersburg on September 27 will be Milojevic's first important opportunity outside official competitions to test the current squad's level of cohesion.