Coach Li Xiaopeng is facing a huge challenge after the 5th round of the 2021 Chinese Super League, as Wuhan lost 1-2 to Tianjin, finishing at the bottom of the league with 2 draws and 3 losses in their first 5 matches. Meanwhile, Yatai beat Shenhua in a blowout victory and remained undefeated with 2 wins and 3 draws, while Shenhua suffered their first loss of the season. On the standings, both Taishan and Harbor have 11 points, and both teams are undefeated. Wuhan, Henan Songshan Longmen and Cangzhou Lions have not won a single game, and Chongqing, despite accumulating 4 points, is not optimistic about the situation, and whether it can successfully complete the season has become an unanswered question.
Harbour team leads the way strongly, Shenzhen team faces a new situation with a new manager
Influenced by the Chinese Super League's salary restriction policy, it is difficult to attract big-name foreign aiders to join the Chinese Super League in the 2021 season. During the winter break, Shenzhen's Jintero became the king of the bidding, and the Shenzhen team with big reinforcements is regarded as the new favorite to compete for the title. In the first 5 rounds of the league, Shenzhen team achieved 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss, accumulating 8 points, ranking 6th, showing some competitiveness. From the overall performance point of view, the new foreign aid Caldecott, Archie Mbeng, Jintero have scored goals, Wakaso outstanding performance, 4 new helpers significantly enhance the team's strength, their foreign aid overall configuration in the Super League can be ranked in the top three.
Shenzhen's squad is really well equipped, but there is a new variable in the coaching position. The news said that Cruyff Jr. is likely to leave the team in the interval, which means he will complete his curtain call in the Chinese Super League in the game against Taishan. Before the start of the season, Barcelona had invited Cruyff Jr. to be the technical director, and the Shenzhen side did not release him at that time. Now that the league has entered the break, the Shenzhen team's new foreign coach Carlos has arrived at the team, no surprise, Carlos will become the new head coach of the Shenzhen team.
For the Shenzhen team, the new manager's integration and the polishing of the new formation are the key to affect their fight for good results. 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 is at the top of the list in Guangzhou with 3 wins and 2 draws, and their overall performance is up to expectations. However, compared to Shenzhen, Taishan's foreign aid configuration is still significantly insufficient, the first five rounds of the league only Fellaini and Sun Zhunhao sitting in the main position, Leonardo is still adapting, Delgado did not get 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 the 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 having confirmed his success in joining Riyadh. At this stage, Guangzhou can only rely on naturalized players to impact good results, and it will be difficult for Cannavaro to lead the team to compete for the title.
The competition in Suzhou was even fiercer, with Shanghai Seaport showing stronger competitiveness. In the 5th round of the league, with 3 internationals and Arnautovic out, 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, which is 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 powerful foreign aid configuration of the seaport puts them in the driver's seat and makes them the biggest favorites for the title. 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 has to wait for all the foreign supporters to return to the team in order to compete for the title this season. Hebei has become a dark horse, they are in the case of reduced investment to improve the overall strength of the team, South Korean manager Kim Jong-woo makes the team change obviously, 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 in the 2022 season, there are no direct relegation places in this season's Chinese Super League, with the bottom 1 and bottom 2 playing a play-off against the 3rd and 4th in the Chinese First Division to decide the Chinese Super League places for the 2022 season. Theoretically, all 16 teams in the Chinese Super League will be able to retain 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 worst position.
In the first 5 rounds of the league, Chongqing won 1, drew 1, and lost 3 with only 2 foreign aid players, and the 3-2 reversal of Henan and the 2-2 draw with Cangzhou Lions showed the team's fighting spirit. However, Chongqing's salary arrears have not been resolved, and the team's ability to continue to play in the next Chinese Super League is full of uncertainties. Chongqing's salary arrears problem has existed for a long time, and there was a solution at the beginning of the season, when the CFA gave them access to the qualification, but it didn't go well, and as of May, Chongqing's players still hadn't gotten their salary arrears, which made the team's situation even worse.
Objectively speaking, Chongqing's coaches and players are very dedicated, they are still in arrears of wages and still fight every game, but the team's vision is not optimistic, whether they can continue to participate in the Chinese Super League, can only wait. Once Chongqing quit in the middle of the game, this will also have a direct impact on the situation of the Chinese Super League. Now that the one-month break directly determines the future of Chongqing, it is worth paying attention to how the CFA and the working alliance 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 get 2 draws and 3 losses, and only got 2 points, ranking 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 still lost 1-2. Tianjin got the first win of the season, Li Xiaopeng coaching encountered great difficulties. The Cangzhou Lions, who have attracted a lot of reinforcements, also only got 3 draws and 2 losses, with Muriqi in a slump, Ahmadov injured, and new recruits Diomande and Sangol limited, 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 been able to show their strength, and the head coach Guterbi is also in danger of being dismissed.
