Homegrown forces rise to the top of the goalscoring charts
At the start of the new season, data from Germany's TransferMarket.com revealed that the Chinese Super League's total valuation of 152 million euros ranked sixth in Asia, just half that of the Saudi professional league. The share of foreign aid has dropped to 11.5 percent, numbering 62, a percentage that has fallen sharply from the past. The epidemic and financial problems have led to three teams, Guangzhou, Hebei and Dalian, adopting an "all-Chinese class" strategy for the first phase of the new season. Guangzhou City and Shanghai Seaport have yet to get their foreign aid in place, and will have to rely on local players for the first few rounds of matches. With the end of the era of "Golden Dollar Football", the Chinese Super League is gradually returning to "small cost" operation, and the role of local players is becoming more and more critical.
In the first round of the tournament, nine matches in the Chinese Super League produced a total of 23 goals, of which local players contributed 12 goals. Changchun Yatai's Tan Long was the center of attention with three goals alone. It is worth mentioning that young players also performed well, with Zhu Chenjie and Bugra Khan helping Shanghai Shenhua and Cangzhou Lions to victory respectively.
However, the number of goals scored in the first round decreased compared to last season.In the first round of the 2021 season, 16 teams scored a total of 27 goals, and despite the increase in the number of teams to 18, the number of goals scored declined. Although the number of goals scored by foreigners in this round was less than that of local players, they still played a key role in the game. For example, Shandong Taishan's Jadason, Changchun Yatai's Eric, Shenzhen's Achim Peng and Cangzhou Lions' Oscar all played crucial roles.
With the change in the selection strategy of the Chinese Super League clubs, the pursuit of cost-effective rather than blindly imported big-name foreign aid, those who are more adapted to the team's system of foreign aid is still able to win or lose in the game.
Controversy and reflection go hand in hand with red card incidents
There were four red cards in the first round of matches, with Zheng Zheng and Xu Xin's red cards sparking widespread controversy. In the match between Shandong Taishan and Zhejiang, Zheng Zheng was sent off for a retaliatory foul; in the match between Shanghai Seaport and Wuhan Changjiang, Xu Xin was expelled from the match with a red card for a stomping action in defense; in the match between Beijing Guoan and Cangzhou Lions, Zhang Chengdong's tactical foul led to his own ejection, while Guo Hao of Cangzhou Lions was "two yellows turned into one red". In the match between Beijing Guoan and Cangzhou Lions, Zhang Chengdong was sent off for a tactical foul, while Guo Hao of Cangzhou Lions was sent off for "two yellows to one red".
There were four red cards in the first round of the Chinese Super League (CSL), the most in the last three seasons, and only the 2016 and 2019 seasons have seen more red cards in the first round since the 2012 season. It is reported that Zheng Zheng and Xu Xin, two current internationals, may receive additional punishment for their nonchalant behavior. Tournament organizers have repeatedly emphasized that the 2022 season of the Chinese Super League will be serious about match discipline, and that the Chinese Super League needs to play a more positive role as it restarts at a time when the national football team is at a low ebb. How to better maintain discipline on the field of play has become an issue that managers need to respond to quickly.
