On May 17, 2021, the fifth round of the Chinese Super League came to an end, with Wuhan losing 1-2 to Tianjin and now sitting at the bottom of the table with 2 draws and 3 losses, with head coach Li Xiaopeng facing a tough challenge. Meanwhile, Yatai beat Shenhua in a surprise victory to move on with an undefeated record of 2 wins and 3 draws, while Shenhua suffered their first loss of the season. On the table, both Taishan and Harbour are tied for the lead with 11 points and remain undefeated. Wuhan, Henan Songshan Longmen and Cangzhou Lions are all without a win, while Chongqing is in a worrying position with four points, and it is doubtful whether they can complete the season successfully.
Harbour team on fire to lead the way, Shenzhen team faces a change of managerial turmoil
Influenced by the Chinese Super League's salary limitation policy, it is unlikely that big-name foreign aiders will join the Chinese Super League in the 2021 season. During the winter break, Shenzhen's Jintro became the king of the bidding, and the big-spending reinforcements of the Shenzhen team are regarded as the new favorite to compete for the title. In the first five rounds of the league, Shenzhen team with 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 negative score of 8 points, ranking 6th, showing some competitiveness. New foreign aiders Caldecott, Achimphon and Jintero all scored goals, and Wakaso had an excellent performance. The four new additions have significantly improved the team's strength, and their foreign aid lineup is top-notch in the Chinese Super League.
Shenzhen's squad is well configured but faces a new variable - a coaching change. It is reported that Cruyff Jr. will leave the team in the interval, which means he will usher in the curtain call in the Chinese Super League. Before the start of the season, Barcelona had invited Cruyff Jr. to serve as technical director, but Shenzhen did not agree. Now the league into the interval, the new foreign coach Carlos has arrived in Shenzhen team, no surprise, he will replace the small Cruyff became the team's new head coach.
For Shenzhen, the new manager's integration and the polishing of the new lineup are the keys to a good performance. At least against strong teams, Shenzhen still has room for improvement, facing Guangzhou and Taishan this season, they have 1 loss and 1 draw, and have yet to win. Taishan leads the Guangzhou division with 3 wins and 2 draws, and their overall performance is in line with expectations. However, compared to Shenzhen, Taishan's foreign aid lineup is still inadequate, with only Fellaini and Sun Junhao sitting in starting positions in the first five rounds of the league, Leonardo still adapting, and Delgado not getting playing time. In the future, when will Guedes and Moises return to the team, and whether there is a new foreign aid to join, all of these affect Taishan team's season trend. Guangzhou is in 4th place with 7 points with one game less. At the moment, it is difficult for Paulinho and Talisca to return, with the latter confirmed to join Riyadh Crescent. At this stage, Guangzhou can only rely on naturalized players to impact good results, and it is very difficult for Cannavaro to lead the team to compete for the title.
The competition in Suzhou was even fiercer, with Shanghai Seaport showing more competitiveness. In the 5th round of the league, with 3 internationals and Arnautovic all absent, they still beat Dalian Ren 3-0 to get their 3rd win of the season, reaching 11 points and scoring as many as 13 goals, making them the strongest attacking team in the Chinese Super League. Captain Oscar scored twice to give himself the best gift for his 100-game milestone in the Chinese Super League, and the harbor's strong foreign aid lineup puts them firmly in the driver's seat and makes them the biggest title contenders. Shenhua against Yatai, Wang Peng completed the shutout in the 81st minute, Yatai beat Shenhua 1-0, 2 wins and 3 draws in the first 5 rounds to keep undefeated and ranked 3rd, becoming the biggest dark horse, Shenhua suffered its first loss.
In addition, the match between Guoan and Hebei was postponed, and the two teams have 6 and 8 points respectively. Guoan was affected by Augusto's failure to return to the team and Bieira's injury, and still needs to wait for all the foreign supporters to return to the team in order to compete for the title this season. Hebei team became a dark horse, in the case of reduced investment to improve the overall strength of the team, South Korean manager Kim Jong-woo let the team change significantly, this season is also expected to impact the good results.
Three teams struggle for a win, Chongqing's future in doubt
In order to expand the Chinese Super League for the 2022 season, there are no direct relegation places in the Chinese Super League this season, and the bottom one and the bottom two will play a play-off against the third and the fourth in the Chinese First Division to compete for a place in the Chinese Super League for the 2022 season. Theoretically, all 16 teams in the Chinese Super League can be retained this season, but at this stage, a number of teams are in big trouble and it's not easy to stay in the Chinese Super League, with Chongqing in the toughest position.
In the first five rounds of the league, Chongqing only in the case of two foreign aid players to achieve 1 win, 1 draw and 3 losses, 3-2 reversal of Henan, 2-2 draw Cangzhou Lions games have shown the team's fighting spirit. However, Chongqing's salary arrears have not been resolved, and the team's ability to continue to participate in the Chinese Super League is full of uncertainties. Chongqing's salary arrears problem has existed for a long time, there was a solution at the beginning of the season, the CFA will give them access to the qualification, but the progress is not smooth, as of May, Chongqing players still did not get the salary arrears, which makes the team's situation more difficult.
Objectively speaking, Chongqing's coaches and players are very dedicated, they are still in arrears of wages in the case of every game, but the team's vision is not optimistic, whether to continue to participate in the Chinese Super League can only wait. This will also have a direct impact on the Super League situation once Chongqing quits midway through the season. Now that the one-month break will directly determine Chongqing's future, it will be interesting to see how the CFA and the Football Clubs Union deal with this dilemma.
Apart from Chongqing, Wuhan, Cangzhou Lions and Henan Songshan Longmen are also experiencing difficulties. Wuhan changed their manager during the winter break and signed a number of new recruits, but the team's situation is not smooth, Li Xiaopeng led the team to achieve 2 draws and 3 defeats, only 2 points, ranked at the bottom of the list. Against Tianjin, only 10 minutes into the game, Mbia red card left the field, then Tianjin Yang Zihao and Iroquois scored, Zhao Hongliu scored a goal, Wuhan or 1-2 loss. Tianjin got the first win of the season, Li Xiaopeng coaching encountered great difficulties. The Cangzhou Lions, who have made big investments, also only achieved 3 draws and 2 losses, with Muric in low form, Ahmedov injured, and new recruits Diomande and Sangol at a limited level, which is the key to the team's difficulty in finding a win. In terms of local players, Cangzhou Lions did sign a number of people, but they have not yet been able to show their strength, and the manager Guterbi is also at risk of being dismissed.
