Half way finish: Shanghai Shuangxiong is only 1 point short, Qingdao Hainiu gets 7 points in 3 fights after being punished, Nantong is the bottom

On the evening of June 16, the 15th round of the 2024 CSL, the last round of the first half cycle, ended with the home defeat of Qingdao West Coast to three towns in Wuhan. After eight games, the first half of the cycle officially ended, and some subtle changes took place in the scoreboard, especially in the championship and relegation areas, which can be described as rapidly changing. This also means that the competition in the second half will be very fierce, even tragic.

A total of 15 goals were scored in this round of 8 matches, nearly half of the 28 goals in the 14th round. This should be related to the fact that the interval between the world preliminary matches has just passed and the teams have not yet fully entered the state. In addition, many international players have consumed a lot of physical energy recently and have not played in this round, which has affected the production of goals to a certain extent.

Judging from the winning attributes of the home and away teams, only two teams scored 3 points at home in this round, of which Du Kang, the founder of Henan Club, defeated Beijing Guoan 2-1, and Zhejiang Team defeated Changchun Yatai 3-1. Tianjin Jinmen Tiger, Nantong Zhiyun, Cangzhou Lion and Qingdao West Coast all lost at home; Meizhou Hakka and Shanghai Shenhua scored 1 point at home.

In the championship fight, the leader Shanghai Shenhua made a dangerous 1-1 draw with Chengdu Rongcheng at home. Although it failed to continue the winning streak, it still remained unbeaten in the season. However, their leading edge is only 1 point. Two days later, if Shanghai Haigang beats Meizhou Hakka away in a make-up match in the seventh round, the defending champion will surpass Shanghai Shenhua and return to the top position.

In the absence of a complete lineup, Shanghai Harbor still defeated Tianjin Jinmen Tiger 3-0 away from home, scored three key points, and made a good start for the recent four consecutive hard road battles on both lines. Of course, in the intensive competition, it is very important for the Shanghai seaport to make adjustments and maintain a strong fighting capacity.

Chengdu Rongcheng had a chance to end Shanghai Shenhua's unbeaten season, but even when Jiang Shenglong sent an own dragon gift, they failed to do so. The tall and powerful striker Felipe, whose penalty kick was also soft, missed the best chance to reverse the score. After getting 1 point, Chengdu Rongcheng still ranks third temporarily. In the next round, they will play away against Qingdao Manatee, which has been in the limelight recently. It is still difficult for them to get all three points.

Shandong Taishan and Meizhou Hakka played a goalless game 0-0 in this round, which was the only game that didn't produce goals. For Mount Tai in Shandong, it is obviously a bit depressing. However, considering that many of their players played in the World Cup qualifiers with the national football team, they consumed a lot of physical energy, and even were injured, so the draw was acceptable. With the international players coming back one after another, I believe that Shandong Taishan's combat effectiveness will be steadily improved.

When Beijing Guoan scored first, he was reversed by the Henan team, which can be described as physical and mental frustration. After the game, Beijing Guoan ranked No. 5. They need to make a good summary, or they will withdraw from the championship competition in advance.

From the half way performance, Shanghai Shuangxiong is undoubtedly the first echelon of the championship. Chengdu Rongcheng, Shandong Taishan, Beijing Guoan and other teams also have opportunities, but they need to continue to make efforts.

In the relegation camp, this round of competition is more intense, and the relegation score is also rising to 13 points, which indicates that the competition in the second half will be more brutal.

Among them, Nantong Zhiyun lost 1-0 to Shenzhen Xinpengcheng in the relegation war with a value of 6 points, which made them fall directly to the bottom of the list, and the pressure of relegation increased sharply.

Similarly, in the just concluded match, Qingdao West Coast lost 1-0 at home to three towns in Wuhan, and fell into the relegation zone. Coincidentally, before the kick-off of the last three matches of this round, Qingdao Manatee, another team in Qingdao, ranked 15th. However, Qingdao Manatee defeated Cangzhou Lions 1-0 away and scored 3 valuable points. In this way, Qingdao Manatee got rid of the degraded area, but the west coast of Qingdao fell here unfortunately.

When it comes to Qingdao Manatee, we must praise it. Because after they were sent off for two empty games, they ushered in a turning point. First, in the first empty game, they drew 1-1 with Beijing Guoan, and then in the second empty game, they defeated Tianjin Jinmen Tiger 3-1; After the intermission, I went to Cangzhou, and took 3 points 1-0. That is to say, after being sent off, Qingdao Manatee scored 7 points in the third battle, which is amazing efficiency and rose to the ninth place. According to the current situation, Qingdao Manatee is expected to achieve its goal of echelon ahead of schedule.

After losing this battle, Cangzhou Lion has been defeated for 9 consecutive rounds. Although it is currently ranked 10th, it is only 2 points ahead of the degraded area, and the prospect is not optimistic.

Henan team took 3 points from Beijing Guoan in this round, which was a bit cold. This key 3 points not only eased the pressure of head coach Nan Jiyi for the time being, but also made the team rise to 11th place, at least taking the initiative to avoid relegation.

After the defeat of Changchun Yatai in this round, the score was still 13 points, but it has slipped to the 13th. Xie Hui and his disciples are still facing a serious situation and need to work hard to play well in the next game.