On the evening of May 20, the Chinese Super League (CSL) was in a state of flux. Henan beat Dalian by a narrow 1-0 margin, Tianjin Jinmen Tigers and Shandong Taishan fought to a 3-3 draw, and Meizhou Hakka lost to Shanghai Harbor by a 0-2 score. Thus, the 8th round of the 2023 Chinese Super League has been completed, and teams and fans have a preliminary judgment of the season's trend.
Shanghai Seaport beat Meizhou Hakka 2-0 on the road with goals from Lv Wenjun and Wu Lei to make it three wins in a row, undefeated for eight rounds, and leading the table with 20 points, as the title race heats up.On May 24th at 19:35, they will host Henan. However, Coach Javier is suspended for a red card and is unable to direct the game, a change that has led to speculation about the reasons behind it.
Meizhou Hakka slipped to 10th place after two consecutive 0-2 defeats against Qingdao Hainiu and Shanghai Seaport, but still have eight points. Shanghai Shenhua drew 1-1 with Beijing Guoan to move into second place, leading the way with 18 points. Shenhua will face Chengdu Rongcheng on the road in the next round, and a fierce battle is inevitable.
Beijing Guoan is now undefeated for 5 consecutive rounds and in 7th place after gaining 1 point. Chengdu Rongcheng drew 3-3 with Wuhan Sanzhen and drew for the 3rd consecutive time, despite being undefeated for 8 rounds, the gap between them and the leading Shanghai Seaport is gradually widening. Tianjin Jinmen Tiger and Shandong Taishan shook hands 3-3, neither team was satisfied with the quality of the game, especially the chaos in the second half.
Shandong Taishan finally got a point to end their losing streak after a five-game road trip, and will host Shenzhen on May 24, with new coach Cui Kangxi expected to lead his team back to winning ways. Changchun Yatai beat Cangzhou Lions 4-2 on the road and are in fifth place. Qingdao Sea Cowboys led Zhejiang 2-0 at home but missed out on their winning streak when Mu Xiekui chased down two goals in the second half.
Henan beat Dalian Ren for their first win of the season with a header from new foreigner Kovic. 16 teams have already won, making this season highly competitive. Dalian Ren lost, but still has 6 points and is in 14th place, so the relegation situation is worrisome. Nantong Zhiyun drew with Shenzhen, but still fell into the relegation zone, the club has arranged for David as technical director.
