Chongqing Tongliang Dragons' four consecutive wins in the Chinese Super League + unbeaten in seven rounds, promoted team? Rising Dragons!

Report by journalist Lu Mi Before this special CSL season began, Chengdu Rongcheng, the only team in the championship contender group without points deduction, was naturally regarded as the top favorite externally. Yet, contrary to everyone's expectations, after the initial seven rounds, another team that stayed unbeaten and closely chased Rongcheng was the promoted team Chongqing Tongliang Dragons. After their 2-1 away win against the defending champions last night, they have now secured four straight victories in the CSL.

Before the season started, as a promoted team, Tongliang Dragons were not highly regarded externally. Firstly, their head coach Liu Jianye was a newcomer, coaching in the CSL for the first time; secondly, the team's transfer moves were slow, which disappointed Chongqing fans initially. Even among the two promoted teams, Liaoning Iron Man, with more significant transfer activities, was considered more promising. However, unexpectedly, in the first six league matches, Tongliang Dragons and Liu Jianye delivered a surprising and stimulating performance with a record of four wins and two draws, remaining unbeaten.

On the evening of the 21st, during the seventh round of the CSL away match, their opponent was the defending champion Shanghai Port. Although Port recently faced extensive player injuries, they still controlled the game rhythm with their squad depth and home advantage, applying high-pressure tactics to completely suppress Tongliang Dragons, continuously utilizing crosses from the wings and penetration through the center, aiming to break into Tongliang Dragons' penalty area. This level of pressure was unprecedented for Tongliang Dragons, but they held firm and managed to break the deadlock first.

In the 14th minute, Tongliang Dragons earned a corner kick from the right side. Foreign player Kempanu delivered a precise cross, and N'Gadeu overpowered Port's defenders to score with a header. After taking the lead, Tongliang Dragons fully retreated defensively. Liu Jianye was pragmatic, aware of the consequences of engaging in an offensive battle with Port. Three minutes later, Kempanu was injured and left the field, replaced by Du Yuezhen, who took on the role of a lone striker for counter-attacks.

Abandoning possession and focusing on dense defense, Tongliang Dragons allowed Port to besiege them, retaining only limited opportunities for counterattacks. Near the end of the first half, Port's defense faltered again. Tongliang Dragons launched a free-kick attack; Yan Junling made a mistake in his challenge, and Chen Chunxin scored into an empty net, breaking his former team's defense and extending the lead to 2-0.

It is worth mentioning that before this match against his former club, Liu Jianye specifically brought Chen Chunxin to the pre-match press conference. In the first seven rounds of this season, he appeared in six matches, starting three times and substituting three times. In the recent three matches, he started consecutively and scored in each. Over the past five seasons, he only scored three goals, two of which were for Shanghai Port. His last goal before this season dates back to the 2023 season when he played for Qingdao Hainiu against Meizhou Hakka.

Throughout the first half, Port attacked relentlessly, but Tongliang Dragons' defense stood firm, allowing only three shots on target. In contrast, Tongliang Dragons had only three shots, all occurring in the first half, yet efficiently converted them into goals, achieving a dream start with minimal cost.

Trailing 0-2, Port was pushed to a desperate situation. Head coach Muscat made personnel adjustments in the second half to enhance offensive impact.

Port's attacking quality significantly improved, continuously applying high pressure on Tongliang Dragons' defensive area, with increasing frequency of crosses from the wings and attempts inside the penalty area. In the 57th minute, Li Xinxiang scored a goal to reduce the deficit. Time remained, reviving suspense.

Facing the overwhelming offensive waves from the defending champion, Liu Jianye directed his team to steadfastly execute a strategy of full retreat and restricting crosses.

The defensive line and midfield closely connected, setting up layered defenses, continuously compressing Port's attacking space, focusing on blocking crossing routes from the wings, repeatedly nullifying Port's crossing tactics. Tongliang Dragons abandoned midfield contention, relying on Du Yuezhen's speed and impact, using long passes to target spaces behind Port's defense. Although mostly in a defensive stance, Du Yuezhen's presence consistently prevented Port's defenders from fully advancing. Ultimately, after enduring Port's siege for 40 minutes, Tongliang Dragons maintained the 2-1 score until the end.

As a promoted team, Tongliang Dragons faced unprecedented pressure against the defending champion. However, the young players did not fear the skill gap or the disadvantage in gameplay. With only 29% possession and 3 shots compared to Port's 15, they relied on extremely pragmatic tactics, efficient set-piece attacks, iron-like defensive determination, and team discipline to secure this highly valuable victory.

After the match, Liu Jianye expressed that winning three points away was fortunate: "We were largely passive throughout the game but seized two opportunities from set-pieces."

Goal scorer N'Gadeu stated: "I am very happy to score this goal; this is a very important victory, belonging to the entire team." He revealed that the team's preparation work was excellent, and they scored two goals from set-pieces.

Tongliang Dragons rank second. Now, Chongqing fans who initially criticized the club's selection are apologizing, admitting they "misunderstood" Liu Jianye.

Similar to the external misjudgment of Tongliang Dragons' season prospects before the season, currently, no one can predict how long this promoted team will sustain championship pressure on Rongcheng. But at least now, this new CSL force has earned considerable respect.