Changchun Yatai will need a stout, diligent defensive effort in their fixture with Henan tomorrow to guarantee their place in the Chinese Super League for 2025.
Xie Hui’s side gave themselves the best chance at avoiding a dreaded relegation in the last round of league fixtures, claiming a dominating 4–0 victory over fellow relegation battlers Qingdao West Coast in front of a delighted home crowd.
After Meizhou Hakka’s 0–0 draw with Shenzhen New Peng City, Changchun’s result put them six points clear of danger.
With two fixtures left to play, they were not mathematically secure, with a heavy overturn on goal difference still potentially possible — albeit unlikely.
For Changchun Yatai, they cannot leave anything to chance, however, and must take control of their own destiny with a strong showing against Henan in Sunday’s away fixture.
Henan’s safety is long-secured, and the best they can realistically hope for in their final two matches is to move up one place in the league standings — from eighth to ninth.
With this in mind, the team may already mentally have checked out as there is no real need for the players to put themselves at risk of injury or suspension when there is nothing to play for.
Whereas for Changchun, they will be fired up and ready to battle to truly secure their place in next year’s top tier, putting themselves out of reach of the likes of Meizhou — who are currently still favourites to suffer the drop, sitting in 15th place above Nantong Zhiyun.
Defence will be crucial to Changchun Yatai’s success, with just a single point enough to put them at ease ahead of next weekend’s league finale against Zhejiang at Nanling Stadium.
It’s a fixture that will hopefully be a formality that allows the players and coaches to thank the fans for their persistent support all season and for the fans to celebrate another year in China’s top league.
That will only be possible if Changchun picks up that valuable point, which guarantees their place. The likes of Lazar Rosic, Stoppila Sunzu, Li Shenyuan, He Yiran and others will need to be at the very best of the game, weathering any potential storm Henan could throw at them.
It’s unlikely the hosts will push too hard when the stakes are so low and the knock-on effect of a suspension or injury could be far worse than dropping two, or even three, points.
The fixture will be Changchun’s 500th officially played fixture in the Chinese Super League, so the players need to go and make it a memorable one so that the team has a chance to continue in the top flight next year.