Reporter Cheng Shan reported After defeating Changchun Yatai 2-0 on the evening of February 28, Shanghai Port occupied the top spot in the Chinese Super League standings with two consecutive wins in the new season. Picking up their form, they will start the journey of the AFC Champions League Elite League round of 16 on the evening of the 4th. Facing Yokohama Mariners again, although the overall strength is not defeated, after two rounds of league advancement, compared with the previous meeting in the group stage, the current harbor has indeed changed a lot.

Before the start of the league, the outside world was not optimistic about the results of the new season of Harbour, after all, after the loss of the main force, the combat effectiveness of Harbour in the Super Cup and the AFC Champions League has not been as good as before - the forward line has not set the sea god needle, the midfield can not find a tandem organizer, and the back line even once failed to make a complete defense system due to injuries. The loss of Oscar, Vargas, and Wu Lei's injury period of the harbor, with the embarrassment of losing three games in a row, started its 2025 season.

Despite this, after the start of the league, Harbour's performance in the first two rounds is still remarkable, and the Harbour who have undergone a major change have announced to the outside world with two consecutive wins that they are still the favourites to win the Chinese Super League title this season.

In the face of Shenzhen Xinpeng City and Changchun Yatai, whose overall strength is not as good as his own, Muscat did not panic when the most promising main foreign aid Gabriel was injured, and he still believed in his attack system. "Use a good offense to reduce the pressure on the defence." Muscat also warned his players that they need to be more patient and careful to penetrate the opponent's hinterland and find the decisive blow to break the opponent. In fact, looking back on the game with Changchun Yatai, compared with the previous "ferocious" attack with a big score, the harbor's attack this season seems to be more patient. According to statistics, they had 26 shots on goal in this game, which was more than three times that of their opponent Changchun Yatai, "We did a good job in joint defense and effectively limited the opponent's offensive opportunities. Muscat said after the game.

In this game, Harbour had a 13-to-1 ratio of shots on goal in the first half, and there were many dangerous chances to score, and more importantly, they did not blindly start with their feet, but repeatedly broke into the opponent's dangerous area to find shots, which is exactly what Muscat wanted to "play effectively". However, with so many shots on goal, the final score was only 2-0, which compared with the Harbour team that always suppressed the opponent by a large margin last season, and also reflected the lack of "one-shot" characters in the forward line. Harbour's forward lineup may be able to give it a go in the Chinese Super League, but in Asia, it is difficult to have a chance to stand out.

What gave Harbour hope was that as the game deepened, Leonardo gradually got better, and in the game against Changchun Yatai, in addition to the assist, he also scored his first goal after the new signing. After the game, Muscat also praised him: "Regarding Leonardo, everyone has seen that the tacit understanding between him and Gustavo in the front court has gradually improved. They work hard and when you fight for the team, you have the opportunity to improve in terms of individual performance as well. "Even if there is still a gap between his own quality and the top foreign players, Leonardo is an important part of Muscat's style of play, and if he can maintain this form, it will be a huge help to the Harbour attack.

In the match with Changchun Yatai, another foreign aid Vital seems to have not found his position and form, but it is the veteran Xu Xin who is eye-catching. Although Xu Xin also admitted that he once doubted his ability when he lost three consecutive games, it seems from the first two rounds of the league that the troubled Harbour and Xu Xin activated each other.

Xu Xin came to Harbour in the 2022 season, and although Oscar was in charge at the time, Harbour still wanted to have an experienced player with a balanced attack and defense in the midfield. Xu Xin during the Oscar period was always a "supporting role", but in fact, among domestic players, he was already at the top. Xu Xin, nicknamed "Koi" by fans, continued his good fortune with other teams, winning two league titles and one FA Cup with Harbour. In Oscar's farewell battle, Xu Xin stood beside him with reluctance, but in fact, it was precisely because of Oscar's departure that Xu Xin, who had been dormant for a long time, ushered in a world of his own.

In the first two games of the league, Xu Xin played a greater role in the offensive and defensive ends and the team's tandem, but in the same way, the "domestic central axis" with good strength in the Chinese Super League has also made achievements in the Asian arena when facing strong opponents, which is not an easy task.

It is certain that at the beginning of the Chinese Super League, which won two consecutive victories, the harbor was better than before in terms of self-confidence and personnel status, but from the actual situation of the team, when Oscar and Wu Lei were the absolute pillars of the team, it was not possible to guarantee the advantage of the Yokohama Mariners.