Super League New Atmosphere: Negative Split Triggers Speed Boost Engine, Four Penalized Strong Teams Show Fierce Competition

Report by Journalist Chen Yong Because Beijing Guoan and Shanghai Haigang delivered a thrilling fast transition battle in this season's Super Cup, the greatest hope for the 2026 Super League season is to see similar rapid offensive and defensive scenarios in the league. Although such scenes were not observed in the first round, the overall pace of play noticeably accelerated, and the intensity of the matches was gratifying—almost all teams invested 100% effort into the games. In this round, the strength of the top teams was also fully demonstrated; Shanghai Haigang, the only team that failed to secure points, actually performed quite well, but Henan Club Caitaofang's performance was even more frenetic.

41,219 fans witnessed the 2026 Super League opening match between Chengdu Rongcheng and Shenzhen New Peng City. Chengdu's football market remains as passionate as ever, providing the best footnote for the fiery start of the 2026 Super League season. Fans are always the heart of professional leagues; only when more fans enter the stadiums and more spectators follow the matches can the Super League achieve healthy and sustainable development.

In the opening match, Chengdu Rongcheng's defense faced a test and conceded the first goal, but Shenzhen New Peng City's Jiang Zhipeng unexpectedly receiving a red card altered the course of the entire game. Ultimately, Chengdu Rongcheng achieved a 5-1 victory. As the only championship-contending team not penalized before this season, Chengdu Rongcheng's defense still requires further磨合. Although their defensive capabilities need further observation, the improvement in their offensive performance displayed in the match is indeed substantial.

Shandong Taishan, Beijing Guoan, and Zhejiang Team each secured clean sheet victories with scores of 3-0, 2-0, and 2-0 against Liaoning Iron Man Nanbowan, Wuhan Three Towns, and Qingdao West Coast respectively. Shandong Taishan experienced a heavy defeat in a pre-season friendly, but after the Super League commenced, Taishan fans discovered that the foreign striker trio plus Xie Weneng remains the most formidable attacking combination in the Super League; Beijing Guoan demonstrated significantly improved overall tactical ability and match appearance in this season's Super Cup and the first league round, also playing more sharply—both the Super Cup and the first round ended with 2-0 wins, making their performance more promising; Zhejiang Team is considered one of the championship-contending groups this year, their attacking lineup is indeed strong, and they also achieved a 2-0 clean sheet victory in the first match, but Qingdao West Coast had only 11 shots compared to 13 and missed a penalty, so Zhejiang Team's future competitiveness for the championship still requires further observation.

Shanghai Shenhua earned three points in a home goal-fest. Although they fell behind early, they scored four consecutive goals to ultimately win 5-3. Overall, despite being penalized the most and their championship probability greatly reduced, Shanghai Shenhua in the new season should not be underestimated, especially since their fans remain fervent—42,193 spectators attending the first round match was the highest attendance in the Super League's opening round, and the two teams jointly providing eight goals also delighted the fans.

Fans who waited for months anticipated more exciting and thrilling Super League matches. Shanghai Haigang's home 1-2 loss to Henan Club Caitaofang was one of the most impressive matches in the Super League's opening round. Objectively, the defending champion Shanghai Haigang performed quite well, but Henan Team displayed greater resilience. This match also set the tone for the excitement and intensity of the 2026 Super League season.

The intensity of the 2026 Super League opening round was gratifying; almost every match was fiercely contested, resulting in multiple player injuries already in the first round, including Silva who continued playing after a lip laceration and scored twice, as well as Taishan Team's left center-back Gao Zhunyi. The intense matches also forced several players to be substituted due to muscle conditions.

Possession rates varied significantly in the first round. Among the eight matches, top teams Chengdu Rongcheng, Beijing Guoan, Shanghai Haigang, and Shanghai Shenhua all had possession rates exceeding 60%; Zhejiang Team also achieved nearly 60% possession. Only Shandong Taishan, which suffered a heavy defeat in pre-season friendlies, adopted a lower stance focusing on counter-attacks, allowing Liaoning Iron Man to exceed 60% possession. Despite large possession disparities, full rapid transition scenarios between both teams were rare across the eight matches, but whether teams focused on attacking or counter-attacking, they generally maintained fast passing and dared to commit players during transition from defense to attack.

Thus, in the Super League's opening round, the most impressive aspect was undoubtedly the players' 100% dedication and effort, with Super League full-backs or wing-backs particularly standing out: In Shandong Taishan, wing-backs Xie Weneng and Liu Yang continuously transitioned rapidly between offense and defense, especially Xie Weneng, who needed to assist in defending against Refinio, not only scored but also delivered a brilliant curling shot that hit the post.

Wing players such as Henan Team's Zhong Yihao, Beijing Guoan's Wang Gang, Shanghai Haigang's Yang Xi, Chengdu Rongcheng's Hu Hetao, and Zhejiang Team's Tong Lei performed exceptionally well. Zhong Yihao scored a goal; Wang Gang assisted and intercepted the goalkeeper to help Zhang Yuning score with a lob.