On April 22, Beijing time, the second round of the Chinese Super League ended. The last two matches of the round ended today. Shanghai Harbor won their second consecutive game with a thrilling 3-2 home win over Shenzhen. They had a man sent off in the 53rd minute, but in the end they relied on a strike from Wu Lei to win. The other game also saw a shutout. Changchun Yatai hosted Dalian Ren. Dalianren equalized in the 94th minute, but Yatai completed the shutout in the 96th minute to narrowly win 3-2. With two rounds of battles in the Chinese Super League, the latest standings have been released and only three teams have kept a clean sheet!
Wu Lei's strike helped Shanghai Seaport overtake Shenhua to top the table for the second consecutive round! Harbor now have the same points and goal difference as Yatai, and are in first place by a small margin of red and yellow cards. Changchun Yatai are second. As last season's 12th place finisher, Yatai started off bravely, winning both games and netting three goals. The biggest dark horse of the season emerged! Aside from Port and Yatai, Shenhua kept a two-match clean sheet. Both matches were narrow 1-0 victories, and are the only team yet to concede a goal. Behind Shenhua, Chengdu Rongcheng and Tianjinmenhu are also undefeated with 1 win and 1 loss, and currently have 4 points.
Beijing Guoan and Henan also remained undefeated for two rounds. Their two draws left them in 8th-9th place. Guoan started the season in poor form with two unbeaten games and only two goals. Of course, if it's worse than last season's champions and runners-up, defending champions Wuhan Sanzhen are in the bottom two, and last season's champions Shandong Taishan are in the bottom three, with both teams failing to win. At the bottom of the table are Zhejiang, who are currently the only team with two consecutive losses and a worrying outlook.
A total of six people scored two goals to tie for the top spot on the scorer's list. There are two domestic players, Dalian Yan Xiangguan and Changchun Yatai Liao Chengjian. There are four foreigners, Nantong Zhiyun's Romario, Shanghai's Paulinho, Changchun Yatai's Serginho and Tianjin Jinmen Tiger's Beric. Currently Wu Lei has one goal and two assists, ranking seventh on the scorers list and first on the assists list.
With the next round of the Chinese Super League starting in three days and many teams only having four days off, the schedule is still quite intense. eight matches will be played on April 25th and 26th. In the race for the top spot, there's a direct conversation between Shenhua and Yatai that's sure to be exciting, and a different confrontation between Harbor and Cangzhou Lions. Here are the details of the specific matches (home team in front):
