On January 3, Beijing time, the chinese Super League relegation group finale, Dalian people won 4-1 against Qingdao, but still ranked second from the bottom, had no chance to go ashore in advance, and could only participate in the promotion and relegation play-offs.
In fact, Dalian people scored 6 points in the first 4 games of the relegation group with 3 wins and 1 loss, and have 16 points in hand after 18 rounds. At that time, they were 5 points ahead of the bottom 2 Tianjin Jinmen Tigers with only 4 rounds left, and they thought that the relegation was very stable. Who would have thought that dalian people would enter the next three rounds of the game without scoring a goal and not scoring a single point, they lost 0-1 to Henan Songshan Longmen, 0-1 to Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic and 0-2 to Cangzhou Lions. What hurt them the most was losing the 6-point battle with direct relegation opponent Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic.
While swallowing three consecutive defeats, Dalian's relegation rival Tianjin Jinmen Tiger achieved an unbeaten record of 2 wins and 1 draw in the same period, and snatched 7 points in 3 games. In this way, Dalian people squandered their 5-point advantage in only 3 games, from 5 points ahead of Tianjin Jinmen Tigers to 2 points behind the other side.
Before the final round, Dalian unexpectedly fell into the promotion and relegation play-off zone, trailing Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic by 1 and 2 points respectively, so they had completely lost the initiative. It can be said that Dalian people are the most deadly team in the second stage of the Chinese Super League.
In the final battle of the Relegation Group of the Chinese Super League, Dalian people twice saw the hope of going ashore early. The first time was that while they were ahead of Qingdao, Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic was behind and Tianjin Jinmen Tigers were still 0-0. The second time was when they locked in the victory, although Chongqing Liangjiang Athletics had completed the counter-overtaking, but the Tianjin Jinmen Tiger side still did not open the situation. No one expected that the Tianjin Jinmen Tigers would score another killer goal in the 85th minute, and the opponent was killed for the third time in the last 4 rounds, and the whistle came ashore early.
Although dalian people beat Qingdao 4-1, they completed a season double against Qingdao. But they were eventually sent to the promotion and relegation play-offs by Tianjin Jinmen Tigers and Chongqing.