In last night’s Chinese Super League match, Shanghai SIPG secured a dominant 7-2 victory over Meizhou Hakka at home, extending their incredible winning streak to an astonishing 16 games. In their post-match analysis, Football News highlighted Meizhou Hakka’s significant rotation aimed at securing their relegation survival.
With only seven games remaining in the league, SIPG’s goal tally has reached 80, leaving them just two goals shy of the Chinese Super League’s single-season record (excluding tournament formats, the previous highest was Guangzhou Evergrande’s 82 goals in 2018).
Football News stated: “In this match, Meizhou, playing away, made significant changes to their starting lineup. Guo Quanbo replaced the regular goalkeeper, while last week’s unconventional defensive duo, Pan Ximing and Wang Jianan, along with Rao Weihui, started again. Li Yongjia filled the defensive midfield position in place of Kosovic. Key players like Cheng Yuelei, Mali, and Ru Zinan found themselves on the bench. The decision to rotate was made well in advance, with Meizhou Hakka taking several factors into consideration. Firstly, SIPG’s strength far surpassed Meizhou’s. Secondly, they were playing away. Most importantly, Meizhou faces their direct relegation rivals, Changchun Yatai, at home in the next round. To ensure they face this opponent with their strongest lineup, Meizhou opted for a rotation, a ‘Tian Ji’s Horse Racing’ strategy in the pursuit of relegation survival.”
Furthermore, Football News added: “For Meizhou Hakka, the result of this match was predictable, but the magnitude of the defeat, a humbling loss, surpassed expectations. What matters more are the upcoming two home games against Yatai and the away fixture against fellow relegation-threatened Cangzhou—a pivotal six-point battle. Yatai, having played one game fewer, leads Meizhou by one point, while Cangzhou, who upset Shandong Taishan in this round, has also overtaken Meizhou by one point.”
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