Leading the Liaoning Derby, Yingbo first broke through the Chinese Super League with five consecutive wins.

Special contribution/Ding Xu, Shen Jun The first round of the top league "Liaoning Derby", staged again after twelve years, ended with Dalian Yingbo defeating Liaoning Tieren 1-0 away. Yingbo achieved its first five consecutive wins in the Chinese Super League and two consecutive away wins, breaking Tieren's unbeaten streak at home spanning one and a half years and totaling 18 league matches. Notably, after this match, Dalian Yingbo also surpassed Chengdu Rongcheng and Chongqing Tongliang Dragon, who are ranked second and third in the league, as well as Shanghai Shenhua, who also has a seven-match unbeaten streak, becoming the first team in the new Chinese Super League season to break through the barrier of five consecutive wins.

The attendance at Tiexi Stadium reached 40,220. Although Wednesday was a workday, a large number of Dalian fans still traveled north to Shenyang to support Yingbo. The Yingbo club also specially coordinated with relevant departments to arrange a "Yingbo Fans Special Train". Before the entrance ceremony, Dalian fans in the away section uniformly lit up their mobile phones, creating a stunning "DA LIAN" light TIFO that was particularly impressive in the away stadium.

Although it was a derby match, the Tieren club made every effort to accommodate the desire of Dalian fans to watch the game away. Tieren fans at the scene displayed banners saying "Welcome Dalian" and "Liaoning and Shenyang football learn from Dalian football, working together for the revitalization of Chinese football", demonstrating the broad-mindedness of the provincial capital city.

Tieren's performance showed obvious polarization. On the defensive end, the team displayed strong resilience for the first 83 minutes, successfully containing Yingbo's sharp attacks. Goalkeeper Han Rongze made several key saves, neutralizing the opponent's threatening attempts. On the offensive end, the team created some opportunities; Mbemba had a one-on-one chance to score but it was invalidated due to offside, and Refinio also had a one-on-one opportunity but failed to complete the shot.

Throughout the entire match, inefficiency was Tieren's fatal weakness, and the disparity in the performance of the foreign players from both teams further amplified this disadvantage. Both sides started with five foreign players. Yingbo's foreign player combination demonstrated strong cohesion; whether it was Stanciu, Mamadu, Malailai, or Achimpon, they all played key roles.

In contrast, Tieren, despite having a high-value foreign player combination, saw their core foreign player Mbemba, apart from scoring an offside goal, perform generally throughout the match. The winger Refinio, valued at 4.5 million euros, showed some impact but due to insufficient integration, lacked decisiveness in critical moments, failing to complete effective shots on one-on-one opportunities; his tactical role remained more on containment. Bangben Yiyu had some passing ability but in this match failed to effectively connect offense and defense, unable to replicate previous assist efficiency, and struggled to provide sustained support to the forward line. Throughout the entire match, Tieren only completed 5 shots, far fewer than the opponent's 11.

In the last two matches, Tieren frequently repeated the old problem of defensive line lapses in concentration. Although the team's overall defense in this match was acceptable, momentary relaxation at critical times still led to disaster. Chen Binbin's clearance error was indeed accidental, but it also reflected fluctuations in the mentality of the team's defensive line under pressure; players failed to maintain focus consistently, ultimately allowing the opponent to seize an opportunity for a decisive strike. Additionally, midfield interception intensity was insufficient, failing to effectively cut off the opponent's attacking connections, giving Stanciu ample space to shoot.

After the match, Li Jinyu said: "Dalian team's foreign players are very capable, scoring the decisive goal. This loss is worth our serious reflection."

The derby loss gave Tieren a clearer understanding of the Chinese Super League and themselves. The team possesses certain strength and foreign players with notable reputations, but as a newly promoted team, there are gaps in offensive and defensive efficiency, key player performance, and in-game adjustment ability; the team still needs further integration.

Yingbo played proactively and aggressively. Mamadu and Yang Mingrui both had good opportunities. In the 84th minute, Stanciu sealed the victory with a decisive strike.

"Winning for our city, for the fans, for the whole team feels fantastic!" Stanciu rushed to the Yingbo fans' section immediately after scoring to celebrate. "Playing a derby away feels just like at home. I know what this derby means to our fans and city. Victory belongs to Dalian!"

After 7 rounds, Stanciu's offensive statistics are 2 goals and 2 assists. Almost every threatening attack by Yingbo had traces of the Romanian. Taking this match as an example, Mamadu's header hitting the crossbar and Yang Mingrui's one-on-one chance both came from Stanciu's clever passes. Solving problems single-handedly, Stanciu perfectly诠释 what a "star player" is and what "value for money" means!

After the halftime break in the derby, Stanciu wore the captain's armband for the first time. Being captain is not unfamiliar to Stanciu, as he is the captain of the Romanian national team. Stanciu said: "I never put myself first; teammates are first. This is the best quality a leader should have: discipline and responsibility, caring for everyone."

After joining Yingbo, Stanciu's exquisite skills, selfless movement, and humble attitude earned respect. He even persisted playing with an injured right leg, inspiring everyone and gradually becoming the team's spiritual leader.

Besides Stanciu, Huang Zihao was also a key player in Yingbo's victory. He saved Li Haoran's high-quality long-range shot and Felipe's header in the final moments. Additionally, Huang Zihao's出击干扰 forced Refinio to miss a one-on-one opportunity. Huang Zihao expressed poetically: "The sky of Liaoning is blue!"

Li Guoxu said: "Recently, we have shown excellent temperament and spiritual attributes on the field, which continued into this match. From the process to the result, we deserved to win." It is reported that after defeating Henan and Tieren, Yingbo's cumulative win bonuses叠加 reached over 3 million.

"Thanks to nearly 6000 Dalian fans who came to support us, keeping us motivated and calm in the away match." Li Guoxu expressed gratitude to the Dalian远征 fans.

Early this morning, Yingbo returned to Dalian by high-speed train overnight. Wang Xu,党组书记 and局长 of the Dalian Sports Bureau, and Wang Wen Yong,党组成员 and副局长, greeted Yingbo's将士们凯旋 at Dalian North Station. Wang Xu said: "On behalf of the Dalian Sports Bureau and the city's football restructuring group, and代表 Dalian市委常委 Xu Guang Xiang and副市长 Mu Ao Feng, we extend our highest敬意 to Yingbo's勇士们. We hope you continue to strive and加油!"

Yingbo successively defeated Harbor,泰山, Zhejiang, Henan, and Tieren, achieving five consecutive wins,刷新 last year's Chinese Super League record of four consecutive wins. Dalian team's longest winning streak in the top league was万达's eleven consecutive wins in 1998,那时 still in甲A. Dalian team's longest winning streak in the Chinese Super League was实德's nine consecutive wins in 2005. Coincidentally,实德's fifth win opponent那时 also was Liaoning.

2005 was the last time Dalian football won a top-level professional championship (Chinese Super League and FA Cup double冠军). 2006 was the last time they participated in the AFC Champions League. Since then, "eight-star Dalian" declined. Now, after five consecutive wins, Yingbo稳居 top three in the Chinese Super League standings, indicating a strong反弹 trend for Dalian football.

If no意外, the Chinese Football Association will have 2 AFC Champions League elite名额 (2026 Chinese Super League冠军 and FA Cup冠军) and 1 AFC Champions League 2名额 (2026 Chinese Super League亚军) in the 2027/28 AFC Champions League. If the 2026 FA Cup冠军 is among the top two in the Chinese Super League, the 2026 Chinese Super League季军 will participate in AFC Champions League 2. Although discussing AFC Champions League名额 is still early, Yingbo has already甩开 fourth-place玉 Kun by 6 points, and Dalian fans无限憧憬 the team's return to the AFC Champions League.

This Sunday at 19:35, Yingbo will face玉 Kun at梭鱼湾. Dalian and滇 teams became "同窗" in 2022, starting together from中冠, then to中乙,中甲 until the Chinese Super League. "A double match week; we will rest well upon returning and prepare for the weekend match." Li Guoxu said.