On August 31st, at 19:30 Beijing time, the much-anticipated 12th round of the Chinese Super League (CSL) bye kicked off with Shanghai Shenhua and Shandong Taishan competing fiercely at the Jinzhou Stadium in Dalian. In the end, Shenhua beat Shandong Taishan 2-1, ending Shandong Taishan's nine-game winning streak. With one more game to go, Shandong Taishan now trails leader Wuhan Sanzhen by 4 points, making their hopes of winning the title increasingly slim.
Over the past two months, Wuhan Three Town has been on a winning streak and is currently on a 12-game winning streak, just one step short of the Chinese Super League record held by Shandong Taishan and Guangzhou. As the biggest competitor, Shandong Taishan has been in hot pursuit. Prior to the match, Shandong Taishan had won 9 consecutive matches, making them the team with the best chance of challenging Wuhan for the lead. However, the gap between the other teams and Shandong Taishan is at least 13 points, making the championship situation very difficult.
However, Shandong Taishan, whose form has been on the decline lately, was completely overwhelmed by their opponents in their match against Shenhua, a full-time Chinese team. Although Sun Junhao's long-distance shot helped Shandong Taishan get the first lead, Shenhua lacked the two sharp knives of Basogo and Cao Yunding, Shandong Taishan's defense made mistakes one after another. Liu Yang gave away penalties for the second consecutive game, while Liu Ruofan's counterattack was like a no man's land, Shenhua scored two goals in two minutes, instantly overtaking the score.
With the end of this game, Shandong Taishan's 9-game winning streak came to an end, and with 39 points after 16 games, they continue to rank second in the league, maintaining a 4-point gap with Wuhan Sanzhen.On September 14th, Shandong Taishan will host Wuhan Sanzhen, which is widely believed to be the focal point of the season's title race. Before that, Shandong Taishan will also face Shenzhen, while Wuhan Sanzhen will face Yatai and Cangzhou Lions. If both teams win, Shandong Taishan will be seven points behind Wuhan Sanzhen before the two sides meet.
Considering Wuhan Sanzhen's current state of play and strength, it is quite difficult for Shandong Taishan to win. If Shandong Taishan loses to Wuhan Sanzhen, the gap between them and their rivals will widen to 10 points, and the suspense of the championship will disappear completely. If the two teams draw, the gap will remain at 7 points, and if Shandong Taishan win, the gap will be narrowed to 4 points. Shandong Taishan's recent offense has relied too much on Cressan, but the latter's two consecutive games have been scoreless, and returning Guo Tianyu has not been able to repeat his heroics of last year. With the defense making mistakes, it will be difficult for Shandong Taishan to defend their title this season.
