On the evening of December 19th, Shandong Taishan swept the Shenzhen team with 9 U23 debutants 8-0 in the 29th round of the Chinese Super League (CSL) Supplementary Match. Shandong Taishan reached 72 points, equaling leader Wuhan Sanzhen, with a goal difference of only five.
After 28 rounds of Chinese Super League, Sanzhen and Taishan have the same 65 points, Sanzhen is ahead of Taishan by 10 goals difference. In the 29th round, Sanzhen won 4-0 against Cangzhou, and the match between Taishan and Shenzhen was postponed, Sanzhen was 3 points ahead of Taishan and had 14 goals difference. In the 30th round, Sanzhen and Taishan shook hands 1-1 in the match of Tianwangshan, with 69 and 66 points respectively.
According to the rules of the Chinese Super League, teams with the same number of points are first ranked according to the one who has more points (wins and losses) from their mutual matches. This season's Chinese Super League Champion can only come between Sanzhen and Taishan, both of which have drawn in both rounds this season. Therefore, goal difference, goals scored, fair play points and even the draw may determine the winner of this season's Chinese Super League.
As a result, the goal difference between Sanzhen and Taishan is in a frantic race. In the 31st round, San Zhen won 2-1 against Dalian Ren, while Taishan won 4-2 against Guangzhou. San Zhen is still 3 points ahead of Taishan, which has played one less game, and the goal difference is narrowed to 13.
Tonight, Taishan and Shenzhen start their 29th round bye match, which is a great opportunity for Taishan to equalize their points and even rake in goal difference. In this match, although Taishan was also affected by infection, the opponent Shenzhen was more affected, with only 2 non-U23 players, Sun Ke and Mi Haolun, from the inaugural Chinese Super League champions in the starting lineup. In the end, Taishan won very easily with a score of 8-0. Taishan tied Sanzhen with 72 points, Sanzhen's goal difference is 59 and Taishan's is 54, only 5 goals difference. With 3 rounds left in the league, Sanjin and Taishan can't afford to make any more mistakes.
The league is still in its final 3 rounds and the games are already in the white-hot stage, both Sanzhen and Taishan are 1 away and 2 home in the last 3 rounds, and both are away in the next round and the same home in the last 2 rounds.
Sanzhen will play away to Rongcheng in the next round, the opponent is ranked 5th and still have the possibility to fight for the qualification of AFC Champions League. In the 33rd round, Sanzhen will play against Zhejiang, which is ranked 3rd and occupies the absolute initiative to qualify for the AFC Champions League. At the end of the round, the difficulty of Sanzhen's home match against Jinmen Tigers looks small. Taishan will challenge Harbor in Jinjiang in the next round. Both sides are close to each other, and Harbor still has the hope to fight for AFC Champions League qualification, so Taishan is definitely not a good match. In the 33rd round, Taishan will face Meizhou with little difficulty to win. In the last round, Taishan will face the tough Guoan.
It's worth noting that it's still unknown if Taishan's last 2 home games will be played in Jinan. Tonight's match with Shenzhen is played in Haikou. The previous home game with Zibo Cuju, arranged to play in Jinjiang, only the opponent forfeited the game is not played. Sanzhen, on the other hand, doesn't have the home field dilemma, and they can finish their last 2 home games in Wuhan.
The last 3 rounds of the match between Sanzhen and Taishan are highly variable due to the complicated epidemic situation in the country at the moment, and it is unknown whether they and their opponents will be able to play at full strength and whether the match will go smoothly.
