Despite the fact that the Chinese Super League is in its off-season, some of the teams have not slackened off, but are fully committed to creating good results in the AFC Champions League. The first round of the competition, the three teams in the Chinese Super League respectively achieved a win, a draw and a negative record, seems to be a fair result, but the opponents are mostly for the Thai super and the Philippines, it is difficult to really test the strength. Into the second round, Taishan, three towns, Zhejiang, respectively, to challenge Yokohama Mariners, Melbourne City, Pohang Steelers, are strong opponents in this group. In other words, if they can win in this round, the chances of getting out of the group will be greatly improved.
In the second round, Taishan made their debut. Hosting Yokohama Mariners, Taishan was highly regarded as the only team to win in the first round. However, unfortunately, Taishan failed to capitalize on the opportunity and lost 0-1 on the road. Immediately after that, Wuhan Sanzhen took the field. Despite earning only one point in the first round, they showed high morale at home and suppressed Urawa Red Diamonds for a while. Although they eventually drew with their opponents, their overall performance was noteworthy. However, on the road against Pohang Steelers, despite scoring the first goal, they played a man short and eventually lost 1-3, exposing the gap in strength.
The hope of victory rested on the Zhejiang team. The outside world had expected them to win the AFC Champions League again after 12 years. However, Zhejiang continued to suffer defeats, losing 1-2 to Melbourne City, losing for the second consecutive round and remaining at the bottom of the rankings. In the second round of the AFC Champions League, three Chinese Super League (CSL) teams suffered three consecutive defeats in home matches, which is not rare in the history of the CSL. Even Harbor, which has many big-name foreign aiders, failed to make it through the play-offs. Looking back at the first two rounds, there was only one win in six matches, showing a decline in the league's overall strength, even against Southeast Asian teams. The decline in AFC Champions League results has directly led to a drop in Super League points and a continued decline in the league's ranking. By then, the number of AFC Champions League spots may be further reduced, which means that Chinese Super League clubs will have fewer and fewer chances to participate in the top Asian clubs' competitions, which is undoubtedly a huge blow to the league. If this situation continues, the attention of the Chinese Super League will also decline. Therefore, Taishan, Sanzhen and Zhejiang will have to go all out to fight for the AFC Champions League places, both for their own sake and for the sake of the league as a whole.
