Chinese Super League Standings Released! Bevis Scores Twice in 3 Minutes as Three Towns Escape Relegation Zone with 20 Points, Zheng Zhi Leads Team to 8 Unbeaten Rounds

In the 83rd minute, the scoreboard at Wuhan Sports Center still showed 2-1.

Qingdao West Coast had only 10 players left on the pitch.

Davidson stood over the ball, about 30 meters from goal. He took his run-up and struck it. The ball curled over the wall and went straight into the top-right corner. The goalkeeper leaned out from beside the wall but could not reach it.

2-2.

More than 30,000 home fans suddenly fell silent.

Let's turn the clock back to the start of the match.

In the 123rd second, Qingdao West Coast launched a counterattack. A chipped pass came from the left, Davidson controlled the ball and delivered a cross. It was low and fast with an awkward trajectory. Aziz and Nelson Luiz could not get a touch, and Three Towns' defenders had no time to clear it—the ball went straight into the far corner.

1-0, a dream start for West Coast away from home.

After scoring, Davidson did not sprint wildly or slide on his knees. He simply turned and ran back, showing little emotion.

He knew this ground well. During his two years with Wuhan Three Towns, he made 66 appearances, scored 26 goals and provided 21 assists, becoming a key foreign player in the club's first Chinese Super League title. Facing his former club, he chose silence.

Three Towns did not panic after falling behind.

In the 19th minute, Ming Tian crossed from the right, Kadiz headed inside the box, and West Coast goalkeeper Li Hao parried but failed to hold the ball. Bevis followed up with an empty-net finish—1-1.

Three minutes later, almost the same script unfolded. Sauer delivered a right-side corner, Kadiz headed at the far post, Li Hao spilled the save again, and Bevis scored from the rebound while falling to the ground.

2-1.

The same striker served as the target man, the same goalkeeper made two consecutive handling errors, and the same forward scored two rebounds. Within three minutes, Bevis completed a brace and Wuhan Sports Center erupted.

Near the end of the first half, the match became complicated.

Memisevic delivered a 45-degree cross from the right, and Aziz headed home in the box. He was also a former player, and he chose not to celebrate. However, after VAR review, the goal was ruled invalid because he was offside before receiving the ball.

In the 52nd minute of the second half, Davidson sent the ball into the net again. This time VAR determined that Nelson Luiz was in an offside position and interfered with the goalkeeper, so the goal was canceled again.

Two goals were ruled out by VAR in one match.

In the 56th minute, West Coast player Dong Yu received a yellow card for a defensive foul and protested strongly toward the referee. In the 62nd minute, he committed another defensive foul and received a second yellow card, resulting in a sending-off.

They had to play with 10 men and were still one goal behind.

The situation on the field completely shifted toward Three Towns.

When the second goal was disallowed, Zheng Zhi no longer rushed forward from the sideline.

The 46-year-old former China national team captain stood in the technical area and applauded in the direction of the referee.

This was not the first time this season that he had clashed with referees. In the May Qilu derby, he was sent off from the coaching area for insulting a referee, then banned from stadiums for six matches and fined 60,000 yuan. Combined with yellow-card accumulation, he was suspended for eight matches in total.

Those very eight matches saw West Coast go unbeaten with four wins and four draws, collecting 16 points.

Although he was not on the sideline, he still decided training, starting lineups and tactical direction, while matchday instructions were carried out by 39-year-old assistant Huang Bowen. During that period, the team's average goals conceded dropped from 2.75 at the start of the season to 0.87.

From being viewed as relegation favorites at the start of the season to now staying firmly near the top of the table, Zheng Zhi made one major change: abandoning unrealistic possession football and switching to a 5-4-1 counterattacking approach.

Their possession rate ranks near the bottom of the league, but tackles and clearances are among the top three.

At the post-match press conference, he said the game was intense but not very smooth, with too many goal incidents requiring referee reviews, which also affected the viewing experience for fans.

The final whistle blew, and the score was 2-2.

For Three Towns, head coach Suarez said the team started slowly, scored two goals after conceding to take the lead, but was eventually equalized by a set piece. Davidson's ability was too strong and deserved praise.

He did not dwell on disappointment, saying the team must try to earn points in every remaining match.

The value of this point was not in the scoreline, but in the standings.

Three Towns reached 20 points, overtook Tianjin Jinmen Tiger on 19 points, moved from second-bottom to third-bottom, and temporarily escaped the relegation zone. They have earned five points from their last three matches with one win and two draws, including a 5-1 away victory over Qingdao Hainiu.

Jinmen Tiger's match was scheduled for the evening of September 6 at home against Zhejiang. In other words, they were pushed down the table by a free kick from a neighboring stadium before even taking the field.

Further down the table, Qingdao Hainiu lost 1-2 away to Dalian Yingbo and suffered a ninth consecutive defeat, sitting bottom with 14 points from 26 rounds. They started the season with a seven-point deduction, meaning their current 14 points were gained after climbing from negative points.

Above them, Henan and Liaoning Tieren are also level on 25 points and are far from being safe.

From seventh to 16th place, ten teams are packed within a range of just over ten points, a situation rarely seen in recent Chinese Super League seasons.

On the same night, Shanghai Port had 21 shots but drew 0-0, Beijing Guoan extended its unbeaten run to 12 rounds, and Dalian Yingbo rose to second after beating Hainiu 2-1.

Chengdu Rongcheng have 51 points from 25 matches with 15 wins, six draws and four losses, continuing to sit firmly at the top with a 14-point lead over the chasing group.

On the evening of September 6, they will face Henan away. A win would allow them to secure the club's first Chinese Super League title with four rounds remaining—and it would also become the first top-flight league championship for western Chinese football since the professional era began.

For West Coast, the team remains unbeaten for eight rounds (three wins and five draws) with 38 points from 26 matches, continuing to stay close to the teams above them. Their next match will be on October 11 at home against Dalian Yingbo.

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