At 19:35 on the evening of September 25, Beijing time, Shanghai Shenhua will play a strong matchup in the semifinals of the FA Cup with Shanghai Port away.
Shanghai Shenhua's last three rounds of games have been won by conceding the goal first, which undoubtedly greatly boosted the team's self-confidence. In addition, although the opponent Shanghai Port is strong on paper, Shanghai Shenhua has achieved an undefeated record of 2 wins and 1 draw in the last 3 encounters with Shanghai Port. Therefore, for the upcoming FA Cup life and death battle, Shanghai Shenhua can be said to be gearing up and full of confidence.
However, just as this FA Cup life-and-death battle was about to start, Shanghai Shenhua suffered two fatal blows one after another. According to the latest news from the "Football Newspaper", not only is the ace winger Manafa still in the recovery period and cannot play, but Teixeira and Zhu Chenjie, the two important leaders of the previous and second generations, may also miss the game due to injury. These are undoubtedly the two most dismal pieces of bad news for Shanghai Shenhua, which is about to play against their strongest opponent, Shanghai Port.
If Manafa's absence is a loss at the technical and tactical level, then the injuries and stoppages of Teixeira and Zhu Chenjie should be a double blow to Shanghai Shenhua's mental level and tactical system. Teixeira, as the offensive core of the team's frontcourt, has become the real "brain" of Shenhua's attack with his excellent dribbling, shooting and passing ability. Not only is he able to create chances on his own, but he can also activate the entire attacking system with precise passing. Zhu Chenjie is the "anchor of the team's backline", and he has built an indestructible defense line for the team with his steady defense, excellent prediction and leadership temperament.
Teixeira's injury will directly lead to a significant decline in Shenhua's creativity and threat on the offensive end. His absence means that the team needs to find a new offensive playmaker to connect the offensive line up front, which is undoubtedly a difficult task for Shanghai Shenhua. And Zhu Chenjie's absence will make Shenhua's backline face a huge test. As the team's defensive leader, Zhu Chenjie's presence not only improved the team's defensive quality, but also gave great encouragement and support to his teammates mentally. His absence could shake the team's backline and increase the risk of being breached by opponents.
In short, if Teixeira and Zhu Chenjie are really injured at the same time, it will undoubtedly be two fatal blows for Shanghai Shenhua. This not only tests Shenhua coach Slutsky's ability to adjust tactics, but also tests the ability of the entire team to withstand pressure. Originally, Shanghai Shenhua against Shanghai Port did not have the absolute certainty of winning, and even in terms of combat effectiveness is still at a disadvantage, now, the game has not yet started, and ushered in such two bad news one after another, it seems that this time Shanghai Shenhua wants to beat Shanghai Port to reach the FA Cup final, a little difficult.