Tellingly, by the end of the 19th round of the league on October 4, Shanghai Shenhua had 39 points, following Wuhan Sanzhen and Shandong Taishan, and became the dark horse of the season. But who would have guessed that in the 29th round of the competition, Shanghai Shenhua to 0-2 score against Zhejiang team, ranking fell to 10th, while the points are still 39 points, as if two months of 10 rounds of games have become futile!
The causes of this anomaly are manifold. On the one hand, Shanghai Shenhua is suffering from issues such as equity reform and unpaid wages. On the other hand, the Football Association made a six-point deduction. Further, foreigner Bassogo is absent as he is representing Cameroon in the World Cup. In the past 10 rounds of league matches, the team only got one win, three draws and six defeats, and the six points it was supposed to get were also stripped by the FA. The fact that the top three teams in the Chinese Super League had "no income" in the last 10 rounds of the league may become a good story in the history of Chinese soccer!
