Tarzan will need to rethink his defensive strategy when facing the Brazilian trident. In their most recent fixtures, they have conceded 6 goals in three meetings against Yokohama, which has drawn attention to the team's defence. To effectively contain the opponent's attack, Tarzan needs to make some adjustments.
Tarzan needed to strengthen the organization and coordination of the defensive line. In past games, their defence has often been porous and opponents have been able to find openings and create chances with ease. Therefore, it is important to reshape the defensive system and improve the tacit cooperation between players. Only through close cooperation and mutual support can Tarzan effectively deter the attacks of his opponents.
Secondly, Tarzan needs to step up the defensive pressure on the opponent. When facing Yokohama, they tend to lack aggressive pressing on their opponents, which gives them too much space and time to organise their attacks. As a result, Tarzan will need to defend more aggressively, adopt a more aggressive strategy, limit the opponent's passing line and interrupt their attacking rhythm early.
In addition, Tarzan also needs to improve his defensive ability against the ball in the air. In past matches, they have often conceded points in their opponents' high-altitude attacks, which shows that they have certain deficiencies in aerial duels and aerial duels. Therefore, strengthening the training of header ability and improving the awareness of players in the air will help Taishan to be more stable on the defensive end.
To sum up, to defend the opponent's Brazilian trident well, Taishan needs to strengthen the organization of the defensive line, improve the defensive pressure, and strengthen the defensive ability of the air ball. Only with these tweaks and improvements will Taishan be able to achieve better defensive performances in future matches. Although this season's AFC Champions League has reached the third round, Shandong Taishan has yet to find an effective winning strategy against familiar opponents Yokohama Marino, especially against Yokohama Marino's headache Brazilian trident.
Following this 1-2 defeat, Tarzan have conceded a total of six goals in their last three matches, an average of two goals per game. Yokohama Mariner's Brazilian trident, Elber López Matteus, became a formidable obstacle for Tarzan to overcome in the Circle. The trio played a key role in all six goals. Looking back at Taishan's 0-1 defeat at home in October last year, Elber's goal was completed with the assistance of Kota Mizunuma; In the 3-0 defeat away from home in December, the Brazilian trident scored all three goals, and Matteus also managed to assist for a brace.
This time, López and Matteus scored in the first and second halves respectively by exploiting a mistake by the Shandong Taishan defence, while Elber also assisted Matteus for the second goal. It is worth mentioning that if it weren't for Wang Dalei's outstanding performance on the goal and the Brazilian trident's consistent waste of chances, Shandong Taishan might not only concede 2 goals, but the situation might have been even more serious.
Colwill, the Australian coach of the Yokohama Mariners, adopted the new 4231 formation for this campaign. In this formation, Brazil's trident is followed by attacker Asahi Uechu, who started in the centre-forward position last October. Together, these four make for a formidable attacking group. The two-man midfield position was partnered by captain Takuya Kita and Shota Watanabe, but South Korean veteran Nam Tae-hee did not start due to his recent poor form. In defence, Brazilian centre-back Eduardo captained the team, with his partner Takumi Ueshima and left and right wing-backs Taiki Watanabe and Ren Kato. This starting lineup is more neat than Shandong Taishan, who do not have an attacking core, Cressan, and there are some changes in technical and tactical details.
According to Nikkan Sports, this change of formation by Cowell was very effective. Yokohama Mariners did not pursue possession as they did against Shandong Taishan before. On the contrary, they put more emphasis on attacking directly through the midfield, avoiding high pressing with Shandong Taishan in the midfield to maintain the speed advantage of attacking. The pace of Elber and Matteus allowed the Yokohama Mariners' front four attackers to threaten the Shandong Taishan defence in attack.
In the first half hour of the game, Brazil's trident created at least five good chances to open the scoring. In addition, the Yokohama Mariners were very decisive in attacking in the frontcourt, actively investing their forces, forming a numerical balance with Shandong Taishan and creating opportunities through the technical superiority of the Brazilian players. For example, when the goal was scored in the 7th minute, as many as 6 Yokohama Mariners players gathered near the penalty area, while only 7 Shandong Taishan players were on the field.
Yokohama Mariners made the most of their attacking group, successfully creating a large number of shots on goal through breakaways from Elber and Mateus, dribbling and shooting from López. Not only did the trio show their individual qualities, but they also actively interacted with Asahi Uechu, who cleverly exploited the defensive holes in Shandong Taishan's midfield to create more space for the team.
In the first half of the tactical confrontation, Colwill adopted more targeted starters and fine-tuning the tactical formation, especially targeting the weak areas on the wings of Shandong Taishan and in front of the penalty area. Almost every opportunity to build a threat originates from these areas, with good results. In the second half, Shandong Taishan intensified its offensive, and Pato almost scored. Colwill reacted quickly by mobilizing Ryo Miyaichi to strengthen the midfield resistance, while his penetrating pass breathed new life into Yokohama Marion's defensive counter-attack.
Yokohama Mariners managed just 52 per cent possession throughout the game, down from 61 per cent against Shandong in October last year. There were fewer shots on goal than the home team (15 to 22), but the number of shots on target was not inferior. The Yokohama Mariners adopted an attacking style that relied almost entirely on the Brazilian trident's individual ability and small group combinations, with a more low-key counter-attack to great effect. In the second leg, Shandong Taishan will need to take the initiative to press the attack, but the high defense may still face the threat of the Brazilian trident. Only by solving this core issue can the Yokohama Mariner offensive be contained and hope for a reversal of the situation.