On October 9, the night was low, the clock struck 19:30, and the 22nd round of the 2022 Chinese Super League season kicked off at the Puwan Stadium in Dalian. The match between Dalian People and Chengdu Rongcheng was a battle of honor and status. In the end, Dalian People had the last laugh in this match with a score of 2-0.
The game was full of exciting moments, with Saldaña's shot hitting the crossbar in the 8th minute, and Laureus similarly firing the ball towards the crossbar in the 37th minute. However, the real breakthrough came in the 38th minute when Shang Yin opened the scoring with a header from Fei Yu's corner kick. In the second minute of extra time, substitute Mamba assisted again to cement the victory.
With this victory, Dalianjin moved up to 13th place in the table with 22 points, finally winning for the first time in the last four rounds of matches and the first time in the history of the match with Rongcheng. Rongcheng, on the other hand, slipped to 9th place with 31 points and only one win in the last four rounds.
In the first 21 rounds of the season, Dalian Ren ranked 14th with 4 wins, 7 draws and 8 losses and Rongcheng ranked 7th with 8 wins, 7 draws and 4 losses and 31 points.The two teams met twice in the play-offs of the 2021 season, with Dalian Ren losing to Rongcheng by a total score of 1-2, and thus being relegated to the Central League. This season, Dalian Ren returned to the Chinese Super League by virtue of their qualification for the bye.
In this round of matches, Dalianjin rotated Wumo, Liu Le, Manzocchi and Mamba, while Rongcheng replaced Hu Huotao. Dalianjin was particularly impressive in the starting lineups of both sides and eventually managed to beat Rongcheng.
[Highlights]
Tang Xin's cross created a chance for Saldaña in the eighth minute, but his shot hit the crossbar.
In the 37th minute, Dong Yanfeng's overhead shot was met by Laureus, who also hit the crossbar.
In the 38th minute, Fei Yu's corner kick was met by Shang Yin's header in front of the goal to break the deadlock.
In the 84th minute, Xiang Baixu's shot was blocked by Zhang Chong to keep the game in doubt.
[Mamba's goal in the second minute of extra time sealed the win for good.]
In the end, the Darenians beat Rongcheng 2-0 at home to add confidence to their season's journey.
[Both lineups]
Dalian Ren (433): 1-Zhang Chong; 11-Sun Guowen, 14-Huang Jiahui (U23), 44-Laurez, 22-Dong Yanfeng; 10-Tsonev (46'2-Lin Longchang), 31-Lv Peng, 28-Fei Yu (83'33-Song Zhiwei); 7-Lin Liangming, 39-Yan Xianggang (86 '17-Mamba), 23-Shang Yin;
Substitutes not on the field: 6-Wang Xianjun (U23), 18-He Yupeng (U23), 20-Wang Tengda (U23), 21-Gui Zihan (U23), 24-Liu Le, 26-Cui Ming'an, 32-Kudizheti, 38-Lv Zhuoyi (U23), 45-Manzogi
Chengdu Rongcheng (541): 33-Zhang Yan; 11-Jin Dangyou, 5-Hu Ruibao, 40-Richard, 26-Liu Tao, 3-Tang Xin (74'20-Abdu Hemiti); 29-Mutalifu (U23) (63'2-Hu Huotao (U23)), 39-Gan Chao, 8-Zhou Dingyang, 10. Romulo; 12-Sardania (74'19-Xiang Baixu);
Substitutes not playing: 4-Li Jianbin, 13-Hu Jing, 15-Wu Guichao, 17-Gan Rui, 21-Meng Junjie (U23), 24-Xing Yu, 28-Wang Hanlin, 31-Yang Ting, 36-Gou Junchen
