At 21:15 Beijing time on December 16, the last match of the 16th round of the Chinese Super League Championship Group ended, with Lu Wenjun's one-footed victory over Guangzhou City.
This 1-0 game allowed Shanghai Harbor to surpass Changchun Yatai by 2 points and ascend to the second position in the Chinese Super League. At the same time, Shanghai Harbor opened a three-point gap with Guangzhou, the fourth place in the Chinese Super League. Because next season's AFC Champions League qualification is still "3+1", because the FA Cup final match is Shandong Taishan vs Shanghai Haigang, that is to say, Shanghai Haigang basically won the 3rd place in the Chinese Super League, which can basically lock in an AFC Champions League qualification.
Before Shanghai Harbour's 1-0 win over Guangzhou City, Shandong Taishan defeated Beijing Guoan 2-1 in this round and won seven consecutive league games. Therefore, the point difference between Shanghai Harbor and the top team Shandong Taishan is still maintained at 5 points. In 3 days, Shanghai Harbor will play a life-and-death battle with Shandong Taishan, and if Shanghai Harbor can win this 6-point battle, then the point difference between the two sides will be reduced to 2 points. Of course, if Shandong Taishan is allowed to take all 3 points, the Chinese Super League championship will basically lose suspense this season.
In the 1-0 win over Guangzhou City, Paulinho assisted Lu Wenjun to score the only goal of the game, but he was yellow carded by the referee for knocking down Cardona before the end of the first half. Paulinho accumulated 4 yellows in the next round of suspension, and did not have the opportunity to play against Shandong Taishan's life and death battle. Paulinho's suspension is undoubtedly a major positive news for Shandong Taishan.