The night of December 26th.
China Super League (soccer league)
After the 19th round of the league, the battlefield is changing. Shandong Taishan locked up the title in 3 rounds ahead of schedule and also qualified for next season's AFC Champions League, while Guangzhou and Shanghai Seaport followed suit and successfully secured their AFC Champions League tickets.
Looking ahead to the AFC Champions League quota allocation for the 2022 season.
China Super League (soccer league)
There will be 3+1 seats, meaning that in addition to the winning team advancing directly, the F.A. Cup winners and league runners-up will join the group stage, while the third-place finishers will have to compete for qualification through a play-off.
After 19 rounds of fierce battles, Taishan led the table with 48 points and won the championship three rounds ahead of schedule. Guangzhou and Shanghai Seaport tied for second and third with 38 points, while Yatai was fourth with 35 points and Shenzhen was fifth with 29 points. Guangzhou and Shanghai Seaport are nine points ahead of fifth-place Shenzhen and have the advantage in terms of wins and losses over each other, and even in the mini-round robin, Shenzhen doesn't have the upper hand, so all three teams are expected to be among the top four.
It is worth noting that both Taishan and Harbour have reached the final of the AFC Cup, which means that the AFC Cup's AFC Champions League spot will be deferred to the fourth-placed team in the Premier League.
Although Guangzhou and Shanghai Seaports have secured their places in the AFC Champions League qualifying rounds, they will have to wait for the results of the league and the AFC Cup to be revealed to see if they can advance directly to the group stage. Guangzhou will have a chance to enter the AFC Champions League main round if they win the second or third place in the league, or if Seaport wins the F.A.C. Cup, the second place in the league or the third place in the league.
Currently, 6th-placed Beijing Guoan has 28 points and a theoretical chance to overtake fourth-placed Changchun Yatai, but since Guoan does not have an AFC Champions League license, the last spot in the AFC Champions League will be between Yatai and Shenzhen.
