In the 21st round of the Chinese Super League, Shanghai Harbour Team led the standings with 52 points with 16 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss, 14 points ahead of second-place Shanghai Shenhua, with little doubt of winning the championship. The relegation battle, Shenzhen, Dalian and Nantong three teams, two teams or face relegation crisis, the current situation is still unclear.
Compared to the title race and relegation battle, the dynamics of the mid-table teams don't seem to attract much attention. However, the recent performances of Tianjin Jinmen Tigers and Changchun Yatai, two veteran Chinese Super League teams, have sparked heated debate. At the beginning of the season, both teams had bright starts and were ranked in the top four. Tianjin Jinmen Tigers were fourth in the 16th round, while Changchun Yatai were third in the ninth round.
However, the two teams' records have taken a sharp turn for the worse recently. Tianjin Jinmen Tigers have won only one game in the last seven rounds, failing to win all three points at home against Nantong and Shenzhen. Changchun Yatai has also won only one game in seven rounds, with five draws and two losses since beating Henan in the 14th round. Both teams have not suffered any heavy losses, but the key problem is that they can't win consistently.
Although both teams remain undefeated for seven rounds, the stories behind them are different. Four or five years ago, Changchun Yatai and Tianjin Jinmenhu were the favorites to be relegated. In recent years, under the leadership of Chen Yang and Yu Genwei, the relegation labels of the two teams have gradually been torn off, but the development paths are very different.
Chen Yang's choice of foreign aid is ingenious, and Lennardo, who is on loan from Taishan this season, leads the scorers list. However, Changchun Yatai does not have much ambition, resulting in Lennardo's contract not being renewed at the beginning of the season, and the departure of veteran Sun Jie. The seven rounds of victories in this period are closely related to Lennardo's departure.
Two years ago, Tianjin Jinmen Tigers nearly quit the soccer world, but now under the leadership of Gen Wei, the team has improved significantly. The technical and tactical quality is high, and local players such as Wang Qiuming, Barton and Xie Weijun have all performed well. However, the team's replacement strength is insufficient, and after half a season of amazing performance, the personnel disadvantage has limited the momentum of Tianjin Jinmen Tigers. 21 rounds of matches only scored 26 goals, which is the only team in the ranking of the top eight teams, the number of goals did not reach 30 teams.
