In the first three rounds of away games, Sichuan Jiuniu won 2 and drew 1, a good record. After returning home in the fourth round, they suffered their first loss of the season with a 2-3 defeat against promotion horse Dandong Tengyue. After the match, they still accumulated 7 points and retired to the fourth place.
With the introduction of powerful internal and external reinforcements such as Feng Xiaoting, Ruan Jun and Onuebu, the fighting power of the promoted Dongguan Guanlian has significantly improved. After four rounds, they also amassed seven points and ranked fifth.
Liaoning Shenyang City, Nanjing City and Dandong Tengyue are ranked sixth to eighth with the same six points. Compared to last season, Liaoning Shenyang City, coached by Coach Duan Xin, has made significant progress. It continues to strengthen in the new season. On the basis of retaining the powerful scorer Messi, Nanjing City brought in a number of strong players such as Fu Huan, Duan Yunzi, Yang He and others a bit slowly. In the last three rounds, they drew 1-1 consecutively and showed no overtaking attitude.
Ma Dandong Tengyue, with their home ground in Huludao, has great potential. At least in the first four rounds, they performed well, especially beating Sichuan Jiuniu 3-2 on the road.
As China B Champions for the 2022 season, Jinan Xingzhou have brought in strong generals such as Dai Lin, Yi Xianlong and Su Zu to reinforce this season, but they have yet to kick ass on paper. Currently, they are only ranked ninth with one win, two draws, one loss and five points. It seems they still need to keep grinding.
Another team that failed to live up to expectations was Shijiazhuang Kung Fu. As the fourth-place finisher in last season's Central League, they said at the beginning of the season that they were "ready with both hands" to replenish the Chinese Super League and continue to fight with the Central League, and brought in strong players such as ex-international player Zhao Mingjian. However, judging from the performance of the first four rounds of 1 win, 1 draw and 2 losses, especially two consecutive losses at home, they may not be ready to overtake.
Yanbian Longding and Shanghai Jiading Huilong are ranked 11th and 12th with 3 points. Wuxi Wu Hook, Guangzhou and Heilongjiang Bingcheng are ranked 13th to 15th with 2 points. It is certainly embarrassing that Guangzhou, a former giants who have just been relegated from the Chinese Super League, have slipped to the bottom of the Central League in just four rounds. Guangzhou's primary goal this season seems to be to try and stay in the Central League.
Jiangxi Lushan is at the bottom of the table with 1 draw, 3 losses and 1 point, which is a bit surprising. This shows that they have insufficient bench depth for the new season and will face a tough test.
Coincidentally, Guangzhou and Jiangxi Lushan are among the 16 Central League teams with the longest professional qualifications at the moment. Let's hope they will have a better performance in the upcoming matches.
