At 19:00 Beijing time on December 13, the 15th round of the Chinese Super League (championship group) played two games, Shanghai Harbor defeated Shenzhen 3-1, and Changchun Yatai defeated Guangzhou City 2-0. The Chinese Super League local tycoon Shenzhen team lost this life-and-death battle, has been thrown off by Shanghai Harbor by 7 points, and it needs a miracle to qualify for next year's AFC Champions League.
After the end of the first stage of the Chinese Super League, Changchun Yatai and Shanghai Haigang both scored 28 points, but Changchun Yatai ranked 3rd in the Chinese Super League with its mutual record. Yatai and Haigang are only 2 points behind Guangzhou, the second-place team in the Chinese Super League, and 5 points behind Shandong Taishan at the top of the table.
In the first match of the championship group after the restart of the Chinese Super League, Changchun Yatai and Shanghai Haigang defeated two Guangdong teams, Guangzhou City and Shenzhen respectively, and they both temporarily overtook the other Guangdong team, Guangzhou, in the case of one more game, and rose to the 2nd and 3rd in the Chinese Super League respectively. Changchun Yatai and Shanghai Harbor, the two champions of the two champions, won at the same time, and the pressure on the top team Shandong Taishan came, and they only had a 2-point lead left for the time being.
Previously, the AFC officially confirmed that the Chinese Super League only had "2+2" in the AFC Champions League in the 2023 season, but the quota in the AFC Champions League next season is still "3+1". Because this season's FA Cup final match is Shandong Taishan against Shanghai Harbor, they have two ways to compete for next season's AFC Champions League qualification.
For the Chinese Super League local team Shenzhen, they want to compete for the AFC Champions League place next season, and there is only one way left in the Chinese Super League. After the restart of the Chinese Super League, the first round lost to Shanghai Harbor, Shenzhen team has temporarily ranked 3rd in the Chinese Super League with only 5 rounds left, Shanghai Harbor has thrown off the 7-point gap, and the hope of competing for the AFC Champions League place is relatively slim.