1 win in 8 games, conceding 23 goals! With such a defensive line, it is too difficult for Guoan to win.

After losing 1 to 2 to Xinpengcheng, Guoan stayed in Zhaoqing, Guangdong for three days of training. Acting head coach Ramiro focused on solving the team's defensive problems. Before the game, he bluntly stated that he wanted to improve the team's defensive quality.

In order to avoid similar problems like the last game, Ramiro adjusted the defense. Fan Shuangjie, Wang Gang, and Jiang Wenhao, who were replaced at halftime of the last game, did not start, and the latter two did not even play. Despite this, Guoan's defensive quality has not been improved, and even more low-level mistakes have occurred, including foreign aid.

The first goal Guoan conceded was when Ngadewu was protecting the ball from the bottom line. The opponent stole the ball from behind and then scored easily against the goalkeeper. The second goal Guoan conceded was due to Zhang Yuan's sloppy defensive action in the penalty area and gave the opponent a penalty kick.

Trailing 0 to 2, Guoan did not give up, but launched a counterattack and scored 3 goals. However, what was unexpected was that in the 90th minute, the opponent easily scored in the Guoan penalty area. Xu Yunlong, who served as the commentator for this game, slammed his fists on the table to vent his frustration.

Regarding Guoan’s leaky defense line, Xu Yunlong hit the nail on the head: This is entirely a matter of defensive principles. How could such a mistake occur at a critical moment?

After the game, when talking about defense, Ramiro bluntly said that he made many mistakes on the defensive end. "We are all very disappointed with this, but the mistakes are shared by the team. In fact, the players knew what to do, but lost confidence and focus at a certain moment. Of course, as a coach, I will also make mistakes. The players did a good job most of the time and made mistakes. It’s not just one or two people. I will never blame a specific player. My principle is to shoulder the blame together.”

Although they did not win and the defense conceded 3 goals again, the spirit shown by Guoan and the more routines displayed in the offense still allowed people to see progress.

With the sluggish state and poor record, the Guoan team is under tremendous pressure. Ramiro said before the game that the team must take responsibility. "The intensive schedule, player injuries and other problems are no excuses."

The players also proved with practical actions that they would not give up the game. Even if they fell behind 2-0 in less than 30 minutes in the first half, Guoan did not back down. Everyone was attacking with all their strength to find opportunities and recovered 3 goals.

It is worth mentioning that Guoan’s offensive routines are more abundant than in the past, especially the set-piece tactics played a key role. The first two goals were both attacks from corner kicks. Of course, this was inseparable from Zhang Xizhe's precise footwork. In addition, Guoan also played good cooperation in the frontcourt, and Dhawan assisted Fabio's goal which was very exciting. This goal is the 22nd goal Fabio has scored for Guoan in all competitions this season, and it is also the 50th goal he has scored for Guoan in official games after joining in 2023.

After the game, Dhawan said that the team's performance was quite good. It was dominant on the scene. The most difficult thing for the team was that it lost the ball too quickly and fell behind 0-2. "We need to regain the initiative and every team member has to work harder. Indeed, we worked very hard, but we will seriously sum up when we go back and try not to make the same mistake again and get 3 points in the next game."

Ramiro was disappointed that he sent out his main force but failed to take away 3 points. He said after the game that the team should adapt to the opponent's aggressiveness as soon as possible and be more proactive. "In the second half, we got physical and used two wings, and our performance was better. However, we did not control the rhythm well throughout the game, including the last 2 minutes. Otherwise, the result was what we wanted."

In the second half, Lin Liangming scored a goal, but was ruled offside. After the game, Ramiro said that even if it was a misjudgment, the team should reflect more on its own mistakes. "If we make fewer mistakes ourselves, maybe we can take away 3 points. We should reflect on ourselves more instead of blaming others."

source:2vn 7m