Match Preview: Mariners meet star-studded Chinese Champions

Central Coast Mariners are in China for the second time in just over a month, taking on Shanghai Port on Matchday Three in the AFC Champions League Elite. Here’s all you need to know about our opponents.

Mark Jackson and the team travelled to Shanghai straight after our A-League opening night clash with Melbourne Victory, which ended goalless despite an action-packed evening.

READ: Mariners kick-off 2024/25 season with goalless draw

Recent form

Jackson’s side began their ACLE campaign in Shandong on September 17th, where a largely positive performance ultimately ended in a 3-1 defeat. Buriram United were then 2-1 winners at Our Paradise on Matchday Two, with Lucas Mauragis scoring his first goal for the Mariners in some style.

However, Jacko believes a point in our A-League Round One match ‘sets us up nicely’ for this trip to China as we look to get off the mark in Asia’s top competition.

Shanghai Port are one of our toughest opponents on paper but are also without a win in their opening two matches after a 2-2 draw with Malaysian powerhouses Johor Darul Ta’zim on Matchday One and a 3-0 defeat to Pohang Steelers on Matchday Two.

After defeat in South Korea, Shanghai Port returned to CSL action on Friday evening and suffered a 3-1 loss to Chengdu Rongcheng, which saw them lose top spot to Shanghai Shenua. They now trail their biggest rivals by a point in the title race with two games to go.

Despite back-to-back defeats, Port’s star-studded squad still present a huge challenge to the Mariners on Matchday Three.

Players to watch:

Ex-Socceroo Kevin Muscat is the Shanghai Port manager, taking over in January 2024, following in the footsteps of the likes of Andre Villas-Boas and Sven-Goran Eriksson.

He inherited a star-studded squad, none bigger than Oscar. Now 33-years-old, the Brazilian was once a world-renowned wonder kid, joining Chelsea at 21 years of age where he made over 200 appearances in all competitions, scoring 38 goals and assisting 31 times, winning two Premier League titles and the UEFA Europa League before departing for China in 2017.

He also starred at the 2014 FIFA World Cup with two goals and two assists as Brazil made the semi-finals, only to lost 7-1 to Germany. In total, he has 12 goals in 48 appearances for Seleção.

Since joining Shanghai Port, Oscar has racked up 240 appearances which sits him sixth in the club’s all-time leaderboard. He has the most assists (132) and the third-most goals (75, one behind fellow Brazilian Hulk) in the club’s history.

Another Brazilian to watch in Shanghai’s ranks is 30-year-old striker Gustavo, he has 20 goals and five assists in his first season with the club.

Chinese forward Wu Lei is another forward threat for Shanghai. The 32-year-old is his country’s second-highest goalscorer with 36 goals in 99 matches and leads Shanghai Port’s all-time scoring chart by over 100 goals. Across two spells with the club, either side of a three-year stint in Spanish La Liga with Espanyol, Wu has scored 185 goals in 298 appearances.

31 of Wu’s goals have come this season; he has all but won the CSL Golden Boot, 10 clear of his nearest competitor with two games to go. He has scored almost a third of Port’s 90 goals this season.

Possibly the unsung hero of Shanghai Port’s free-scoring front four is Argentine winger Matias Vargas, he has also hit double figures for goals and assists this season (11G / 11A), the 27-year-old plays off the left and is also formerly of Espanyol.

At the back, club legend and record appearance holder (398 over 17 years with the club) Junling Yan will play in goal for Shanghai Port. As well as Yan, Shanghai’s current squad contains nine of their top 12 all-time appearances makers, balancing plenty of experience with their obvious star quality.

Leading the Mariners’ back line that is tasked with nulling Port’s attack is Brian Kaltak, who may be partnered by Bradley Tapp again. The Mariners were solid in defence on A-League opening night with the duo dominant at the back.

Dylan Peraic-Cullen put in an extremely impressive debut performance between the sticks,

Lucas Mauragis has already made the left-back spot his own, he was a standout for the Mariners on Matchday Two, scoring a stunning goal and earning a place in Team of the Round as we fell to a 2-1 defeat to Thai League One Champions Buriram United.

In attack, the Mariners will be look to the creativity of our own Brazilians Mikael Doka and Vitor Feijao. Doka found some of his best form in Asia last season and scored in our trip to China last month.

Jacko said his team ‘showed the right intent’ but fell just short in the final third, in our goalless draw with Melbourne Victory on Friday, praising the work of forward duo Alou Kuol and Ryan Edmondson who will both be keen to open their 24/25 accounts in China on Tuesday.

How to Watch

Watch the game on Paramount+ or follow all the action live via Official Central Coast Mariners social channels.

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