A poor start leaves Changchun with questions ahead of clash with Guangzhou Evergrande

Changchun’s promising mid-season break had left fans with high hopes before the North-East side fell 3-2 to Hangzhou Greentown at home before recording 2-2 and 0-0 draws away to Beijing Guoan and Henan Jianye respectively.

Changchun returned to CSL action at home against Hangzhou Greentown and was looking to record at least a point to get the second half of their season well underway. But it wasn’t to be as Hangzhou scored their winning goal in the 90th minute and sent Changchun home with a bitter taste in their mouth.

A few new faces made their debut against Beijing Guoan a week later, with recent import signing Szabolcs Huszti and new loan signing Yang Xu coming on as substitutes in the second half of the 2-2 draw. Changchun opted to change goalkeepers for this match, with Song Zhenyu conceding three goals in their previous match they went with Mi Tianhe instead.

A goalless second half ended what was an exciting match in the first half with Changchun taking a 2-0 lead before Beijing struck twice in 5 minutes to send the teams in at half time level.

Changchun went on to face Henan Jianye mid-week and failed to continue a more-prolific goalscoring record, having scored two goals in each of their last five competitive matches, with the match ending goalless.

Loan-signing Feng Renliang had the best chance of the match when his shot was saved by Henan’s goalkeeper only to fall back to Feng’s feet, where he mis-hit his rebound shot and the ball went marginally wide.

Now a gargantuan task awaits them. On Sunday 3rd August league-leaders and defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande arrive in Changchun. Changchun will be hoping to “do the double” over Guangzhou, having defeated them 3-1 in Guangzhou earlier this season. But with Guangzhou flying high at the top and Changchun slowly creeping closer to the relegation zone, it’s becoming harder to imagine a Changchun victory this Sunday.

Two points from a possible nine is not good enough for Changchun to maintain their position within the Chinese Super League. They will be hoping their new signings will be able to make more of an impact against Guangzhou and will be hoping for more positive results in the coming weeks.

Changchun Line-Up vs Hangzhou:
Song Zhenyu (GK), Anzur Ismailov, Wang Wanpeng, Lü Jianjun, Sun Jie, Walter Iglesias, Zhang Xiaofei (c), Yan Feng, Feng Renjiang (Li Xiaoting 73’), Cao Tianbao, Fatos Beciraj

Changchun Line-Up vs Beijing:
Mi Tianhe (GK), Anzur Ismailov, Lü Jianjun, Sun Jie, Walter Iglesias, Zhang Xiaofei (c), Yan Feng, Eninho, Feng Renliang (Li Xiaoting 85’), Cao Tianbao (Yang Xu 59’), Fatos Beciraj (Huszti 60’)

Changchun Line-Up vs Henan:
Mi Tianhe (GK), Anzur Ismailov, Wang Wanpeng, Lü Jianjun, Sun Jie, Walter Iglesias, Zhang Xiaofei (c), Eninho (Huszti 45’), Feng Renliang, Cao Tianbao (Li Xiaoting 76’), Fatos Beciraj (Yang Xu 66’)