Guangzhou: Young star Wei Shihao was the stand-out for Guangzhou Evergrande in their AFC Champions League Round of 16 first leg against Shandong Luneng, scoring the opening goal in the 2-1 win at Tianhe Stadium.
With injuries to superstar attacker Talisca and veteran forward Gao Lin having ruled the pair out since mid-May, the two-time AFC Champions League winners were relieved to see Wei show no ill-effects from his recent lay-off and help Guangzhou secure an important advantage in their last 16 showdown with countrymen Shandong.
The Right Wei
Although for much of his career so far Wei Shihao has been a winger or wide forward, of late he has deputised as a central attacker. It has proven to be an effective positional switch in the Chinese Super League and on Tuesday against Shandong it proved the right call.
Wei did pass up a gilt-edged opportunity early in the game, but shortly after the half-hour mark he was more clinical, scoring his first ever AFC Champions League goal.
As per the above heat map, Wei was given a mandate to push high up on the Shandong backline, indeed spending a good deal of the match inside the opposing penalty area.
With an impressive 88% passing accuracy in the opposition half - a statistic far superior to the foreign stars on display like Paulinho (82%), Marouane Fellaini (70%) and Graziano Pelle (56%) - Wei Shihao tallied three shots on goal and won five duels to round off an impressive performance that culminated with his fifth goal in the last five games in all competitions.
Pelle Nullified
By contrast, Italian forward Pelle continues to see his fortunes wane as this year's AFC Champions League progresses.
The striker was on a red hot streak with six goals in the first four Group Stage matches but his form has coolled dramatically since and he has gone goalless in the last three fixtures. The tie at Tianhe was no different.
On Tuesday, the striker did not register a single shot on goal, with all four of his efforts successfully blocked by the Guangzhou defence. Both crosses he attempted were unsuccessful and he was fouled more than any other attacking player.
Neverthless, while his attacking game struggled, his physicality does remain a potent weapon. The powerful number nine won 10 of his 14 duels and six out of nine aerial duels.
He will, however, need to rediscover his scoring touch, and quickly, if Shandong are to progress to their third AFC Champions League quarter-finals.
Huang Bowen's Central Role
In the 2015 AFC Champions League, midfielder Huang Bowen lit up the knockout stage with a series of spectacular goals as Guangzhou went on to lift their second Continental title.
This year, though, the Changsha-native has performed a less ostentatious role, but it is one that has been vital and quietly effective.
Keeping things ticking over as the anchor in the middle, Huang's technical ability saw him touch the ball (82) and complete more passes than any other player on the field (62), with a team best passing accuracy of 87%, while he was involved in three of Guangzhou's five highest passing combinations.
The six clearances he registered also showed his willingness to help out with the defensive duties. Now 31 years old, his more mature play may not hit the headlines as they did four years ago, but his performances in this campaign could be even more important.
Source: the-afc.com