Round 26 No-Penalty Points Table: All BIG5 Teams Except Shanghai Port Are in the Top Four

After each Chinese Super League round ends, a no-penalty points table is released. Some people like to follow it, while others do not, because a points table without deductions reflects a team's true level. In the previous round's no-penalty table, all BIG5 teams were in the top five positions. After Shanghai Port drew with Beijing Guoan in this round, their position among the BIG5 has been replaced by Dalian Yingbo.

In this round, Chengdu Rongcheng were stopped by Henan and failed to win the championship four rounds early. Their title campaign can only be delayed until October. In the next round, they can win the title three rounds ahead of schedule if they secure a victory.

Beijing Guoan have 43 points on the no-penalty table and rank second. Beijing Guoan are now unbeaten for 15 consecutive matches in all competitions, and in this round they held Shanghai Port to a draw with only one foreign player available. When Beijing Guoan were suffering from a shortage of injured players, they unexpectedly received a one-month break, and only Zhang Yuning was selected for the Asian Games. The break also gave him an opportunity to recover.

Shandong Taishan have 43 points on the no-penalty table and rank third. In this round, Shandong Taishan drew 1-1 with Shenzhen Peng City. Cryzan scored before later being sent off with a red card. After being eliminated by Shanghai Port in the FA Cup, Shandong have now gone two matches without a win.

Shanghai Shenhua have 41 points on the no-penalty table and rank fourth. The writer believes Shenhua are still Shenhua but have suffered because of too many points deductions. If they, Shanghai Port and Beijing Guoan had all been deducted five points, they would have been second and would have been the team closest to Chengdu Rongcheng. They originally defeated Chongqing Tongliang Dragon 3-1 away from home, and some fans said Slutsky resigned too early. After all, the current Shenhua squad was built by him. During the low point when the team suffered three consecutive defeats, he did not stay until the end like Guardiola, but instead chose to resign. Some fans believe that if Slutsky had remained in charge, Shenhua might not necessarily have been eliminated in the FA Cup.

Shanghai Port have 38 points on the no-penalty table and rank sixth. With five foreign players available at home in this round, Shanghai Port failed to defeat Beijing Guoan, and the capital club received praise. Some believe that the issue is not that Port's five main foreign players have failed to blend together, but that they lack a decisive attacking spark in tough matches. For example, Gabriel was the key attacking point last year, and the team has also lacked a consistent goalscorer. There is no Shanghai Port player leading the Chinese Super League scoring or assist charts. This shows that Port still need to sign excellent foreign players in order to have a major advantage in next year's title pursuit.