In a season of fierce rivalry, the five matches in this round were winners and losers, while three matches ended in draws: Meizhou Hakka drew 1-1 with Qingdao West Coast, Changchun Yatai shook hands with Shenzhen Xinpengcheng 1-1, and Chengdu Rongcheng and Wuhan Sancheng were separated by a 2-2 draw. Both draws came on the relegation front, and for each team, the draws were not enough to satisfy their desire for a win. As more teams fall into the relegation zone, the gap between them has not widened, which signals that the relegation battle will become more and more intense and grueling this season.
Changchun Yatai failed to win their first home game of the season, although they did not concede another goal in extra time, but the lead was still tied by Shenzhen. They are clearly unwilling to accept this result and are currently at the bottom of the table, with relegation pressure continuing to mount. In the 10th round, Changchun Yatai will face Nantong Zhiyun on the road at 15:30 on May 5, which is a life-and-death battle worth six points. The match is destined to be a rough and tumble affair. It is worth mentioning that the new coach of Changchun Yatai, Xie Hui, has coached Nantong Jiyun before. This time, he will lead the team to challenge the old master, Xie Hui must have feelings in his heart.
Qingdao Hainiu and Qingdao West Coast did not perform well in this round. Although Qingdao Sea Cow beat Shenzhen Xinpengcheng 3-1 on the road in the last round, they lost 0-5 to Shanghai Seaport at home in this round, which is a big fluctuation. In addition to the obvious strength gap, Qingdao Manatee's loss is also related to the incomplete lineup. In the next round, they will challenge Wuhan Sanzhen on the road, a tough battle is coming. Facing a desperate situation, the only thing the Sea Bulls can do is to go all out and try to score.
Qingdao West Coast, as a promoted horse, had a decent start and even won the city derby, but fell into a slump from the fifth round onwards, without a win for five consecutive rounds. They drew 1-1 with Meizhou Hakka on the road and slipped to 13th place, just one point above the relegation zone, with the pressure of relegation increasing dramatically. In the 10th round, they will host Shandong Taishan, a Qilu derby will be staged, from the paper strength, this duel seems unfavorable.
In the title race, Shanghai Shenhua maintained their unbeaten run with a 4-0 win over Cangzhou Lions to remain unbeaten on 23 points and continue to lead the race for the title. Shanghai Seaport beat Qingdao Sea Cowboys by five goals to move into third place with 18 points despite playing one less round. The defending champions are struggling to catch up with leading Shanghai Shenhua.
Chengdu Rongcheng's progress slowed down with a draw against Wuhan Sanzhen in this round, and they now have 19 points, just one point ahead of Shanghai Seaport. In addition, Beijing Guoan and Shandong Taishan both won this round, with 18 and 17 points respectively, and they have become strong contenders for the title.
In terms of the scorer list, Shanghai Seaport's international Wu Lei once again scored twice in this round, bringing his goal tally to 9 and leading the scorer list. Shanghai Shenhua foreigners Luiz and Teixeira followed in second and third place with seven and six goals respectively.
