On August 15, the 2021 season of the Chinese Super League Gusu match was completed, and finally, Beijing Guoan and Hebei team tried their best to lock the top four seats, hand in hand with Changchun Yatai and Shanghai seaport to enter the group of title contenders. While Shanghai Shenhua, Wuhan, Tianjin Jinmen Tigers and Dalian People had to face the challenge of relegation group. Unexpectedly, the promotion horse Yatai won the first place, while Shenhua unexpectedly fell into the relegation group.
The finale saw Shenhua, Hebei and Guoan battling it out for the 2 title spots. In a shocking turn of events, Shenhua and Guoan, two of the oldest and most powerful teams in the world, went head-to-head in the final moments for the promotion spot. In the end, Guoan locked up the promotion spot in just 20 minutes, leaping from fifth to third place. Shenhua unfortunately became part of the relegation group as Hebei also gained points.
Shenhua's failure to advance to the championship group has a lot to do with the age of the team's lineup. Shenhua holds the record for the oldest average age of a starting lineup in this season's Chinese Super League, and if not for the restrictions of the U23 rule, Shenhua could have even fielded a lineup of all 30+ players. The intensive schedule after the resumption of the first phase of the league is very unfavorable to Shenhua's older team. Although Cui Kangxi's resignation allowed Shenhua to usher in two consecutive victories, Shenhua still had the advantage in terms of points and goal difference before the last game, but the aging Shenhua still can't keep up with the pace of the younger teams.
Changchun Yatai has become the only promoted team this season, and as a former Chinese Super League champion, Yatai has shown a wonderful performance different from previous promoted teams after returning to the Chinese Super League. Yatai had a great start to the season, going undefeated in the first five rounds. Although Yatai suffered a loss in their first match after the resumption of the competition, they then ushered in a wave of five wins and one draw, earning 16 points. Among them, the wonderful performance of beating Guoan and consecutively defeating the Shanghai duo is especially remarkable. In particular, in the match against Suzhou division leaders Harbor, Yatai not only gave their rivals a taste of their first loss of the season, but also caught up with their opponents to finish with the same number of points.
At the end of the first stage, Yatai became the first team in Suzhou District with the advantage of one win and one draw in two matches against Harbor, overpowering their opponents. The promotion horse not only became the blackest black horse, but also "black to the end", became the best team in Suzhou, which made the experts also lost their minds.
The reason why Yatai can achieve such a result has two aspects: First, Yatai itself local players strength is not weak, the relegation in 2018 is more due to their own internal reasons, including the 2019 season failed to return to the Super League, but also not a problem of strength; Second, the Yatai season preparation period is sufficient, four foreign aid has been in the team to prepare for the game, and the whole team is better, and internal reinforcements have also made a strong supplement. Although the current strength of Yatai and the situation of several title contenders, they want to perform the "Kaiserslautern Miracle" is more difficult, but in the second stage they are certainly the title contenders can not be underestimated rivals, is also expected to enter the top four.
From the beginning of the year, Xavi and Hamsik left the team, to Augusto could not enter the country reluctantly chose to leave the team, and then Arnautovic bid farewell to the Shanghai seaport after the European Cup. The Chinese Super League due to the epidemic and salary limitations of the two layers of reasons, big-name foreign aid have returned to the team, and now only three big-name foreign aid Oscar, Bakambu and Moreno are left in the Suzhou region. Among them, Oscar is the most famous and strongest, although he is still in Seaport, but Arnautovic's return to the team, but also made Seaport suffered a lot of losses, directly lost the first position. Although the domestic players in Harbour's squad stepped up to the plate, how long they can sustain their output is a major test.
Several other teams that lost their big-name foreigners suffered badly in terms of results. Shanghai Shenhua ended up in the relegation group. Guoan narrowly missed out on the title contenders group. Dalian, not to mention, they not only lost Hamsik, Bao Dan Nielsen, Larsen failed to return to the team, Dalian people in the "quasi full Chinese class" situation can only end up in the bottom of the Suzhou District.
Due to the return of big-name foreigners, Korean players have become the more cost-effective foreigners in the Chinese Super League. Compared to last season, the performance of the Korean army, including Korean coaches, has been mixed this season. The Hebei team, which was expected to have a worse record at the beginning of the season, has played a different kind of soccer under the leadership of Korean head coach Kim Jong-woo. With the team in arrears due to club finances, the Hebei team under Kim Jong-fu played with blood, occupying fourth place until the final round, and ultimately storming into the championship group by virtue of their own excellent play, completing relegation ahead of schedule.
Shanghai Shenhua was in a different situation, senior center forward Kim Shin-wook's form declined, far less than when he first came to the team, and his position in the club was even replaced by Bi Jin-ho, who was also removed from the registration during the summer transfer period. Subsequently, the head coach Choi Kang-hee, who led the team to a lack of improvement, also voluntarily resigned, and eventually Shenhua was not in the group of title contenders. In addition to Shenhua bid farewell to the South Korean manager, Guoan also sent away Kim Min Ja, who has always refused to return to the team, only played 2 league games this season, he has moved to Europe, for Guoan to bring a transfer fee, but also to make the final "contribution".
Apart from Shenhua, who eventually fell to the relegation group, Wuhan, Tianjin Jinmen Tigers and Dalian Ren are the teams that have been active in the second half of the table. These three teams can be said to have booked the relegation group in advance, and they have become "strong contenders" to fall into the relegation playoffs.
Two things to note about Wuhan, despite the delayed victory, are: one, they drew as many as 8 games, the most in the entire Chinese Super League, and many of the games they would have had a chance to take; and two, Wuhan is relatively well-staffed and has made additions in the second transfer, notably bringing in national soccer captain Artemis Artemin, which has greatly strengthened the midfield. Although Baptiste Tang is back in the team, he has only played 2 games for Wuhan this season, and now his detachment is not something the team needs to adapt to.
Tianjin made positive reinforcements in the summer transfer period, introducing local players such as Jin Yangyang and Wang Jannan, as well as reinforcements at the foreign aid end. After the resumption of the first stage they only got 3 points from Guoan, with the same relegation rivals Wuhan, Dalian competition were unable to win, for Tianjin and rivals with a bad record, very unfavorable to the second stage of the relegation group competition.
Needless to say, the Darenians lost all of their matches in the first phase except for a double over Tianjin and a draw with Wuhan, and now they and Qingdao in the Guangzhou division are the two teams most likely to fall into the relegation playoffs at the end of the season. There are positives for Dalian, however, as they are the most youth-heavy team in the Chinese Super League, and with Danielson already back in the team, Larsson has been given a clean bill of health to organize a return trip, and the team has registered Long Dong. With another super-long break to bond, Dalian will surely be a world of difference in the first phase after the reopening. But as things stand now, they are still the most likely team to fall into the relegation playoffs in the Suzhou division.
