"Championship group" and "Relegation group" scheduled
Super 16 teams
A few happy and sad
The 2020 Super League season has ended all the first phase of the competition.
Next, the 16 teams will be on a truce for half a month, and the second stage of the ranking of the two groups will be staged from October 16 to November 12.
What are the new changes in the first stage of the Super League, and what impact will it have on the second stage?
Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou's competition for the crown remains unchanged
Although the Super League has adopted a relatively special format due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic this season, which has brought unprecedented physical and psychological challenges to the players, the first stage has ended relatively smoothly.
Judging from the current final rankings of the first stage of the two groups A and B, the overall competitive landscape of the Super League this season has not changed much compared with last year.
The top 5 of the top 8 in the Super League last year, Evergrande, Guoan, Shanghai SIPG, Suning, and Luneng, all entered this year’s championship group with obvious advantages; Wuhan, TEDA, and Henan, which ranked 5th to 8th last year Fall into the relegation group; last year's 10th, 11th and 13th Chongqing, Hebei and Shenhua entered the championship group.
It should be said that the partial changes in the teams that finally entered the championship group this season are objectively caused by differences in the strategic thinking and personnel structure adjustments of the teams this year.
On the whole, Evergrande, SIPG and Guoan are still the most powerful contenders for the championship this season.
Evergrande is the team with the most wins and the highest points in the first stage.
In the more fiercely competitive Group A, Evergrande secured the top spot in the group two rounds in advance, reflecting their hard power as the last champion. They will have a psychological advantage in the second stage of the championship. Many naturalized players will join in. Make Evergrande's lineup selection more changes.
SIPG tied with Luneng for the least number of goals in the first stage, and the offensive and defensive data was more balanced.
They are also the largest adjustment of foreign players in the traditional top three of the Chinese Super League this year. They introduced the "standard king" Lopez at the beginning of the season, and later introduced Australian international Mu Yi to replace Ahmedov. At present, they have the strongest in the Super League. Pure 5 foreign aid configuration.
Guoan scored 36 goals in the first stage, with Biheng mostly scoring 5 goals and 10 more goals than SIPG. Bakambu temporarily tied for the top scorer list with Hebei China’s Malcom with 11 goals, which shows that Guoan’s strong offensive power is Guoan. Strong support for this year's championship.
Judging from the situation of the second stage of the match, Evergrande and SIPG are the biggest favourites to enter the finals in their respective half-zones.
In contrast, Evergrande’s half-zone has Guoan and Luneng blocking the way, and it is more difficult to qualify for the finals than SIPG.
Moreover, the championship competition is arranged in the Suzhou Division, which is undoubtedly at a disadvantage for Evergrande, which competes in the Dalian Division in the first stage.
In any case, the second stage adopts the elimination system of "cup competition", it can be said that every game cannot be neglected, otherwise it is likely to be upset.
The relegation situation is full of variables
This year, the number of downgrades in the Super League has been adjusted to 1.5.
In addition to the direct relegation of the last-to-last team, the second-to-last team will have to play two rounds of play-offs with the runner-up in China.
At present, the strength of the eight teams entering the relegation group are among the best. Only Tianjin TEDA is subject to internal and external troubles this year. In the first stage, it became the only "zero win" team.
However, after entering the second phase of the life and death battle, who will become the last unlucky person is full of variables.
The Shenzhen Kaisa and Dalian natives have been very strong in signing up this season, and they eventually fell into the relegation group. This is related to the stronger strength of the teams in Group A.
It is generally inferred that after the first stage of running-in, it should not be difficult for them to complete the relegation task in the second stage. They are more focused on preparing for next year's lineup upgrade.
In terms of the number of goals conceded, TEDA, Jianye, R&F and Qingdao ranked the bottom four in the first stage.
If they want to succeed in relegation in the second stage, I am afraid they urgently need to improve their defensive ability.
However, considering the special competition system of the second stage, the above-mentioned teams have adjusted their focus to improve their attack power, and short-term loan of foreign aid is their common action.
Taeda became the only team in the Super League that only registered 3 foreign players this year. This is also the main reason for the team's poor performance in the first stage.
To this end, TEDA has introduced Ahmedov from SIPG and is also introducing a foreign forward.
After Zahavi and Saba left, R&F quickly rented out two attackers, Zivkovic and Adrian.
Qingdao is also introducing new foreign aid Radonic in the second phase, and Jianye is also operating to attack the introduction of foreign aid.
The teams in the relegation group are "close to the buddha", hoping to save themselves in time, so as to take the lead in the second stage of the knockout.
After personnel adjustments, the second stage relegation group will compete fiercely, and the strength of each team can no longer be judged by the performance of the first stage.
Foreign aid retreats foreign teachers in danger
Due to the restrictions of the Chinese Super League’s “Four Caps” New Deal and the tight financial resources of the clubs this year, the past “burning money” scenes are no longer and the foreign aid transfer market is calm.
Under the premise of reducing operating costs in an all-round way, many clubs not only no longer introduce super foreign players, but even terminate their contracts with some high-priced foreign players in advance.
R&F striker Zahavi's departure is a typical case, and Shenhua's Shahavi is a similar operation.
Even Suning's "thigh" Teixeira has also been reported to be transferred.
To be sure, many big-name foreign players whose contracts with the club expire next year will leave the Super League.
Judging from the transcript of the first stage, although the total number of goals scored by foreign players has decreased by 9 compared with the same period, the total number of goals scored by domestic players has increased by 6 compared with the same period last year, but foreign aid is still the decisive force of each team's performance.
In the future, the Super League will reconsider the issue of cost performance in the selection of foreign aid.
Compared with foreign aid, the life of foreign teachers is not easy this year.
Since the first stage, Jianye, Shenzhen Football, Qingdao, TEDA, and Wuhan have made coaching changes. These 5 teams are currently in the relegation group.
The newly-appointed foreign coaches of Jianye and Wuhan did not participate in the first stage of the competition. Their joining will bring new stimulation to the second stage of relegation.
Currently there are only four local coaches, Li Xiaopeng, Wu Jingui, Wang Baoshan, and Xie Feng, in the 16 Super League. How many of them can stay after the second stage?
In the first stage, the U-23 players of each team in the Super League have significantly improved their total playing time and starters compared to last year, and many teams even let many U-21 players make their debut in the Super League.
The goals scored by U-23 players in the Chinese Super League are basically the same as those of the same period last year, but there are not many that really make people shine. There are only a handful of new players like Guo Tianyu and Tong Lei.
The first round of the Chinese Super League Championship:
Hebei China VS Guangzhou Evergrande
Shandong Luneng VS Beijing Guoan
Shanghai Shenhua VS Shanghai SIPG
Chongqing Contemporary VS Jiangsu Suning
The first round of the Super League relegation group:
Tianjin TEDA VS Shenzhen Kaisa
Dalian people VS Shijiazhuang Yongchang
Henan Jianye VS Wuhan Zall
Qingdao Huanghai VS Guangzhou R&F
Zhang Zhe, All Media Reporter, Guangzhou Daily