Pohang succeeded in completely overpowering China’s prestigious Shandong Taishan at home, and at the center of it was the performance of the Brazilian trio Wandelson-Oberdan-Giorgi, who scored one goal and one assist.
The Pohang Steelers, led by head coach Park Tae-ha, brought a perfect 4-2 victory against Shandong Taishan, a prestigious Chinese team, in the fourth round of the “2024-25 AFC Champions League Elite” stage at Pohang Steelyard in North Gyeongsang Province at 7 p.m. on the 6th. Pohang, which has won two consecutive home games, has jumped from 10th to 7th, clearly increasing its chances of advancing to the tournament.
Pohang dominated the match perfectly. Shandong, who got a free kick and a corner at the start of the first half, looked at the opportunity, but it was canceled. In the 7th minute of the first half, Shandong Zeka, who intercepted Hong Yun-sang’s mistake, fired a shot, but Yoon Pyeong-guk blocked it. Pohang also launched a counterattack. Wandelson and Jung Jae-hee scored threatening shots in the 12th and 21st minutes of the first half, but unfortunately, they missed slightly. Pohang, which led the atmosphere, scored the first goal. Jung Jae-hee accurately penetrated the Shandong goal in the 28th minute of the first half, a free kick situation obtained from the counterattack opportunity.
The joy of scoring the first goal didn’t last long. In the 31st minute of the first half, Pohang dedicated a corner kick due to a build-up mistake, and lost a point to Chen Fu in the process. Afterwards, Shin Kwang-hoon’s mid-range shot in the 37th minute of the first half and Giorgi overcame an aerial contest in the 44th minute of the first half, but it was unfortunately eliminated. After that, no significant scene came out, and the first half was over. At the beginning of the second half, Shandong introduced “Crack” Bacō to take aggressive changes.
Pohang also went on a counterattack at the beginning of the second half, and Giorgi crossed, but missed. Pohang, which continued its momentum, was blocked by Kim Jong-woo in the second minute of the second half. In the 9th minute of the second half, Lee Tae-seok and Jung Jae-hee worked together to counterattack, and crossed but were blocked. Pohang, which raised the mood, eventually succeeded in turning the tables. Giorgi overcame the competition in the center in the 18th minute of the second half and scored an upset score. Pohang, which succeeded in turning the tables, quickly scored additional points.
In the 22nd minute of the second half, Jorge, who caught the ball inside the penalty box, passed it over to Wandelson, who made the team’s third goal with a right-footed shot. The hot furnace fired even more. In the 30th minute of the second half, Wandelson stole the ball and conducted a counterattack, handed it over to Auberdan, and scored a point by perfectly inserting it. Since then, Pohang has put in young resources such as Kim Myung-joon, Eo Jeong-won, Yoon Seok-ju, Kim Kyu-hyung, and Kim Dong-jin to solidify its spirit. Shortly before the end, it lost to Shandong Bijinhao, but maintained its concentration, and Pohang won the game.
Pohang, Giorgi-Auverdan-Wandelson Brazil’s ‘Trio’ performance, which ‘beat Shandong’
It was a valuable victory. Pohang, which could have been on the verge of elimination from the group league if it recorded a loss against Shandong Province with one win, two losses and three points, succeeded in securing three points by scoring four goals at home. This was possible thanks to the Samba Trio’s performance as a melting pot leading to Jorge-Oberdan-Wandelson.
Pohang took the lead from the start of the game and aimed for the Shandong goal, but failed to open it easily. Rather, it was shaken by the Shandong attack centered on Zeka, and even allowed threatening shots. As soon as it needed to win at home, Giorgi, who was on the front line, began to emit fire. In the 29th minute of the first half, Giorgi stole Shandong’s ball, proceeded with a counterattack, and succeeded in obtaining a free kick. After that, the free kick led to Jung Jae-hee’s score and smiled broadly.
His performance continued. When the score was tied 1-1 in the 19th minute of the second half, Jorge received a ball in front of the penalty box and fired a shot, which went into the net to prove to be the come-from-behind goal. Afterwards, Jorge who assisted Wandelson at the 23rd minute of the second half showed overwhelming performance in offense, and succeeded in blocking shots at an important moment due to his wide range of activities even in defense. Notably, the scene where Jorge overcome the opponent team’s competition in the 17th minute of the second half and instantly depress two players was highlighted.
For 90 minutes, Jorge had one goal and one assist, four successful dribbles (five attempts), a 100 percent successful tackle rate, 13 successful competitions for ground balls (five attempts), and one successful competition for aerial balls. Pohang captain Wandelson also responded to his performance. Wandelson, who started as the right-handed striker, scored one goal and one assist along with Jorge to display solid class performance. Notably, Wandelson stole the opponent’s ball and conducted counterattacks to assist Auberdan in goal at the 30th minute of the second half.
He also showed impressive performance in defense. Wandelson did not lose ground in the competition with “Crack” Baco, who was substituted in the second half, and added a pass at the right place to play as a lubricant for the team. He also showed impressive performance in the central area, and displayed outstanding performance in the class of Auverdan. Auverdan, who started with Kim Jong-woo, succeeded in eliminating rough fouls and pressure from opponents, and played a key role in earning three points by helping him score a wedge and Giorgi’s second goal. 메이저놀이터
He also posted impressive performance in detail. During his 86-minute stint at the stadium, Auberdan posted 87 percent pass success rate, three opportunities creation, 100 percent cross success rate and five ball recovery, adding to the sense of stability in the midfield.
Meanwhile, Pohang, which recorded a pleasant victory at home, will play its fourth final round match with Gimcheon Sangmu, who is seeking to reclaim second place, on the 10th after taking a short break at home.