With the final whistle from referee Fan Qi, Shandong Luneng sealed a 2-1 away victory over Guangzhou R\&F, earning their first road win of the Chinese Super League season. Foreign striker Graziano Pellè celebrated by embracing teammate Wu Xinghan, who had come on as a substitute but missed two golden scoring chances. Fortunately for Luneng, his fellow 1993 Olympic squad teammate Liu Binbin scored the decisive goal. Since Felix Magath took charge, aside from target man Yang Xu, who did not feature in this match, and the departed Diego Tardelli, only Liu Binbin and Walter Montillo have scored more than once — their combined six goals accounting for 43% of all goals in the Magath era. Both repaid their manager’s trust in this match with a goal each.

Liu Binbin and Montillo are the only attacking players to have featured in all 11 league matches since Magath’s arrival. Alongside summer signing Pellè, they form Luneng’s current attacking trident. But defensively, stability has been harder to find. In just 11 matches, Magath has deployed five different formations, a sharp contrast to his predecessor Mano Menezes’s rigid 4-2-3-1. Magath’s penchant for change is not new — during his 2014 spell with Fulham, he never used the same starting XI in consecutive matches over 20 league games. Even after two years away from management, his arrival in Jinan has not altered his love for constant adjustments.

Since his second spell at Wolfsburg, Magath has only twice named the same starting XI in back-to-back matches across 84 games, the last time in 2011. Against R\&F’s 5-3-2 system, he matched them with a 5-3-2 (or 3-5-2) setup, pairing Gil with Ju Yushe in central defense, and adding utility man Zhang Chi to specifically mark Renatinho. In midfield, Hao Junmin remained a constant, while Dai Lin replaced the often-used Li Songyi. The results speak for themselves: 13 goals conceded in 11 matches, a significant improvement from the 1.5 goals per game earlier in the season, and no match under Magath has seen them concede more than twice. Defensively, his work has been an upgrade on the Menezes era.

In attack, Montillo has been granted full creative freedom, a role he clearly relishes compared to the first half of the season when he was often pushed wide. Much like South American stars Dario Conca and Ricardo Goulart, Montillo likes to drop deep for the ball, making it harder for opponents to mark his sudden forward runs. However, this shift has also created a problem — other attackers have gone quiet. Under Cuca, Montillo’s assists far outnumbered his goals, averaging one assist every three games. This season, in 21 appearances, he has just three assists (0.14 per match), with his increased goal tally coming at the expense of creating for others. Strike partners — from Aloisio and Tardelli to Pellè and Cissé — have struggled to hit expected scoring levels.

Among domestic attackers, Wang Yongpo is the most capable playmaker, but injuries have hindered him. Others like Liu Binbin, Wu Xinghan, Qi Tianyu, and Song Long are mainly wide runners, not known for accurate crossing. Matches have repeatedly seen Pellè throwing his hands up in frustration after teammates’ wayward crosses sailed over the byline.

While Montillo has become the primary scoring threat, his deep positioning and ball dominance as an attacking midfielder have disrupted the team’s attacking flow. With a daunting schedule ahead — three home games and five away, mostly against title contenders or relegation battlers — Luneng’s lack of relegation-fight experience adds pressure. Magath may have to rely heavily on Montillo’s individual brilliance for goals, while the dream of smooth, free-flowing team attacks will likely have to wait for another season.

For fans, the unpredictability in Magath’s approach is much like the high-stakes shifts seen in Live Cricket BPL, where rapid tactical changes can swing matches. Just as Live Cricket BPL teams often adapt their game plans on the fly to outwit opponents, Luneng’s survival and success may depend on Magath’s ability to tinker at the right moments. And like Live Cricket BPL supporters, Luneng fans will be watching every move closely, hoping that constant change can bring consistent results.