On the night of December 19, Shandong Taishan crushed Shenzhen, who started all U23 players, with an overwhelming 8-0 victory in a bye match of the 29th round of the Chinese Super League (CSL). After this match, Taishan climbed to 72 points, equalizing with league leader Wuhan Sanzhen, while the goal difference is only five. By the 28th round of the Chinese Super League, Sanzhen and Taishan were tied with 65 points, but Sanzhen was temporarily ahead with a goal difference of 10. In the 29th round, Sanzhen beat Cangzhou 4-0, while Taishan's match with Shenzhen was postponed. As a result, Sanzhen led Taishan by 3 points, with a goal difference of 14 more. By the 30th round, the battle of Tianshan between the two teams ended in a 1-1 draw with 69 and 66 points respectively. According to the ranking rules of the Chinese Super League, teams with the same number of points will be ranked according to their wins and losses against each other. The battle for the Super League title this season seems to be between Sanzhen and Taishan. Both teams drew in their two rounds of mid-season meetings. As a result, goal difference, goals scored, fair play points and even the draw could be the key to deciding this season's champion. Against this backdrop, San Zhen and Taishan engaged in a frantic battle for goal difference. In the 31st round, Tri-Town won 2-1 on the road against Dalian People, while Taishan won 4-2 against Guangzhou. Although Sanzhen is still three points ahead of Taishan, who have played one less round, the goal difference has narrowed to 13. Tonight, Taishan has a 29th round bye against Shenzhen, which is undoubtedly a great opportunity for Taishan to even out the points and even close the goal difference. Although Taishan was affected by the infection, Shenzhen was even more affected. In this match, Taishan won easily with a score of 8-0. Taishan's points tied San Zhen's 72 points, while goal difference was 59 for San Zhen and 54 for Taishan, narrowing the gap to just 5. With 3 rounds left in the league, neither Sanjin nor Taishan can afford to slip up. As the league enters the last 3 rounds, the game has entered the white-hot stage. San Zhen and Taishan have 1 away and 2 home matches in the last 3 rounds, and both of them are away matches in the first round. San Zhen will play away to Rongcheng in the next round, the opponent is ranked 5th and still has the hope of qualifying for the AFC Champions League. In the 33rd round, Sanzhen will face the 3rd ranked Zhejiang, who has the initiative to qualify for the AFC Champions League. In the final round, Sanzhen will face Jinmen Tigers at home, and the match seems to be not too difficult. Taishan will face Harbor on the road in the next round. Both teams are equal in strength, and Harbor still has the possibility to fight for the qualification of AFC Champions League, which is not an easy task for Taishan. In the 33rd round, Taishan will face Meizhou, which is not very difficult to win. In the last round, Taishan will face the powerful Guoan team. It's worth mentioning that the venue for Taishan's last two home games is still an unknown. Tonight's match with Shenzhen was played in Haikou, while the previous home match with Zibo Cuju was scheduled to be played in Jinjiang, despite the opponent forfeiting the match. In contrast, the Sanzhen team has no home field issues and can complete their final two home games in Wuhan. In the face of the current complicated epidemic situation in the country, Sanzhen and Taishan are full of uncertainty as to whether they will be able to play at full strength in the last three rounds and whether the matches will go smoothly.
