On May 27th, a much-anticipated match in the 10th round of the Chinese Super League (CSL) was staged at Chengdu Rongcheng's home stadium, with Chengdu Rongcheng from the Asian Champions League (AFC) region taking on bottom-ranked Nantong Zhiyun.
In the table, Chengdu Rongcheng won 4 and drew 5 in 9 matches and ranked third with 17 points, only 1 point away from Shanghai Shenhua and 6 points away from Shanghai Harbor. Nantong Zhiyun, on the other hand, won 1, drew 3 and lost 5 in 9 matches and ranked last with 6 points, only 1 point higher than Henan and Cangzhou Lions in the relegation zone.
The starting lineups for both sides were revealed before the match.
Chengdu Rongcheng used a 343 formation with Felipe Silva joining hands with Aixon and Romulo to form an attacking triangle, with Tang Xin, Zhou Dingyang, Feng Zhuoyi and Gan Rui in the midfield, a trio of center backs of Hu Ruibao, Gou Junchen and Liu Tao, and Zhang Yan in goal. The total value of the starting lineup is up to 3.925 million euros.
Nantong Zhiyun, on the other hand, put out a 4231 formation, with Stilio, Romario, Wang Song, and Morellato up front, Cao Kang and Yang Mingyang at the back, Liu Huan, Bressan, Liu Wei, and Ye Lijiang making up the defense, and Shi Xiaodong in goal. The total value of the starting lineup is 2.285 million euros.
Nantong Zhiyun, who suffered an unexpected 0:5 defeat at home in the previous round, did not choose to be conservative in this away match against Chengdu Rongcheng, who has the strongest attacking force in the Chinese Super League, but went all out on offense. Only 6 minutes after the start, Nantong Zhiyun got a free kick in front of the field, Sichuan veteran Wang Song was penalized into the penalty area, and Romario's shot nearly broke the goal.
However, in the 8th minute, Chengdu Rongcheng made a mistake at the back and Romario got a one-touch chance, Liu Tao made up for it in time to spoil the shot and prevent Chengdu Rongcheng from conceding the goal.
In the 22nd minute, Romario sent a shot after breaking the ball, although the ball speed is very fast, but the angle is not ideal. 24 minutes, Wang Song in front of the field after breaking the ball shot is also high above the lintel.
Nantong Zhiyun had a free kick opportunity in the 26th minute, Wang Song took the penalty into the box, Gou Junchen headed the ball out and Morellato followed up with a long shot, but the ball flew over the line.
It took about half an hour for Chengdu Rongcheng to go on the offensive. In the 29th minute, Romulo's shot went wide, Liu Tao made a mistake in defense, and Xu Zhengyuan replaced him with Yang Yiming in the 30th minute.
In the 35th minute, Chengdu Rongcheng's header from a corner kick from the left side of the field was deflected by Feng Zhuoyi.
Chengdu Rongcheng finally broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute, Zhou Dingyang's exquisite pass was sent to the penalty area, Felipe scored with his left foot, Chengdu Rongcheng led Nantong Zhiyun 1:0.
In the end, with Felipe's goal, Chengdu Rongcheng won 1:0 at home against Nantong Zhiyun, and moved up to the second place of the Chinese Super League table with 20 points, 2 points ahead of Shanghai Shenhua and 3 points behind Shanghai Harbor. Nantong Zhiyun continues to be at the bottom of the table with only 6 points from 10 matches. Felipe is leading the Chinese Super League scorers list with 5 goals.
