Beijing went into the game sitting in third spot and trailing Shandong by 9 points with just 10 games remaining and would’ve reasonably expected to grab all three points at the Qingdao Tiantai Stadium to close that gap.
Instead, Shandong now has the chance to extend their lead when they host Jiangsu Shuntian today. Jiangsu sits in ninth place, but are only four points from the top for and an ACL spot.
It has been a fortuitous weekend for Shandong, who saw their closest rival, Shanghai Shenhua also drop points with a 1-1 draw at home to mid-table side Dalian Shide.
Shenhua took the lead in the 16th minute courtesy of Colombian Duvier Riascos. They couldn’t hold on though and Shide equalised in the 57th minute. It was their Zambian import James Chamanga that put that back on level terms.
Despite both sides having chances, neither side could find the winner and the game ended 1-1.
It wasn’t a weekend for goal scoring in CSL, with only six goals in the seven games played so far.
Shaanxi Chanba, home of ex-Adelaide United midfielder Jonas Salley, defeated Changchun Yatai 1-0 on Friday Night.
Saturday action saw Tianjin Teda defeat Nanchang Bayi 1-0, whilst on Sunday Henan Jianye defeated Shenzhen Ruby, the new home of All-White defender Chris Killen, 1-0, Hangzhou Lucheng and Chongqing Lifan played out a 0-0 draw, and Chris Coyne’s Liaoning Hongyun went down 1-0 away to Changsha Ginde.
That leaves the table, after 21 games (with the game between Shandong and Jiangsu to be played), as follows:
Shandong Luneng* 41
Shanghai Shenhua 38
Beijing Guoan 32
Hangzhou Lucheng 31
Liaoning Hongyun 30
Tianjin Teda 30
Shaanxi Chanba 29
Henan Jianye 28
Jiangsu Shuntian* 27
Dalian Shide 27
Shenzhen Ruby 24
Changchun Yatai 23
Changsha Ginde 23
Nanchang Bayi 22
Chongqing Lifan 20
Qingdao Jonoon 18
* Game in hand
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