The ninth round of the Chinese Super League ended in controversy. Before the start of the match, the FA created a lot of controversy with a couple of penalties. Instead of making additional penalties as they should have, they inexplicably punished others. There was a period of time when domestic soccer's dissatisfaction with the FA and the referees grew higher and higher. Going back to the ninth round of the league, there were a lot of goal battles in this round, with a total of 30 goals in eight matches. Teams like Zhejiang and Shandong Taishan also saw a rebound in their performances, temporarily lifting the crisis. Let's take a look at the specific point standings.
1st-4th: Shanghai Port, Shanghai Shenhua, Chengdu Rongcheng, Changchun Yatai
The top of the table is still firmly occupied by Harbor. The team defeated Henan 3-2 at home to win 4 consecutive matches and remain undefeated for the season. Wu Lei scored his third goal, tying him with Leonardo at the top of the scorer's list, well ahead of others with 7 goals. Shanghai Shenhua lost away to strong rival Chengdu Rongcheng. Although still in second place, the gap with the harbor has widened to 5 points. The game caused a lot of controversy and Ma Zhen got a red card. Changchun Yatai beat Qingdao Hainiu, still playing the role of dark horse.
5th-8th: Tianjin Jinmen Tiger, Wuhan Sanzhen, Beijing Guoan, Shandong Taishan
The Jinmen Tigers held on to their top-five position in the table after a resilient away draw with Meizhou Hakka. After Aziz's inexplicable suspension, Wuhan Sanzhen Tao Qianglong exploded for four goals to bloodily beat promoted Nantong Zhiyun 5-0. The other goal battle took place in the match between Beijing Guoan and Cangzhou Lions. Guoan went crazy at home, beating Cangzhou Lions 6-2 with a multi-point victory to ease the pressure on Coach Stanley with a big win. Meanwhile, the points reached 14, the same as Wuhan Sanzhen and only one point away from the top 5. Taishan finally ended their five-game road trip and beat Shenzhen at home to consolidate their top eight spot.
9-12: Meizhou Hakka, Shenzhen, Zhejiang, Qingdao Hainiu.
Teams in this zone cannot be said to be completely out of danger of relegation. Ninth-ranked Meizhou Hakka is only three points above the relegation zone, and one game could make a world of difference. Meizhou Hakka has 9 points, Shenzhen, Zhejiang and Qingdao Hainiu have 8 points. Zhejiang's win over Dalian quenched their thirst with three points, ending the embarrassment of being at the bottom of the table in consecutive rounds while temporarily escaping the relegation zone.
13th-16th: Henan, Cangzhou Lions, Dalian People, Nantong Zhiyun
Henan's away loss to Seaport was no surprise, and Cangzhou Lions' big loss to Guoan was even more surprising. Dalian Ren lost to Zhejiang at home, allowing their opponents to successfully get out of the bottom and relegation zone. Dalian people three consecutive losses, eight consecutive losses, has fallen into the relegation zone. As a newly promoted horse, Nantong Zhiyun has no foothold in the Chinese Super League now. Currently, Henan and Cangzhou have 7 points, while Dalian Ren and Nantong Zhiyun have 6 points.
