Chengdu Rongcheng beat Shenyang Urban 2-1 in the Super League on Friday, a result that keeps the hosts top of the table while Shenyang remain rooted in 13th place. The match, played at home for Chengdu, ended with the visitors unable to recover despite dominating possession for large stretches.
Dinghao Yan picked up a yellow card early, at the 17th minute, before Felipe Silva gave Chengdu the lead at 26 minutes. Shenyang responded almost immediately after the break; Wellington Silva scored at the 46th minute and He Yiran came on to replace someone in the same window.
Chengdu weathered the second-half pressure. Felipe Silva went off at 59 minutes, joined by Tixiang Li and Dinghao Yan, while Yang Li and Wang Ziming arrived for the hosts at 66. Matheus Jussa entered Shenyang's side at 71, but the visitors could not turn their advantage into something tangible.
Jeffinho broke the deadlock for the second time at 72 minutes, and everything changed from there. Shenyang tried to respond; Li Haoran, Felipe Silva, Yang Ming-Yang and Dilmurat Mawlanyaz were among the replacements brought on by both sides in the final quarter, but the outcome was already decided.
Shenyang held 56 per cent of possession and completed 502 passes compared with 396 for Chengdu. They created just one big chance against seven for the hosts, and their two shots on target yielded nothing. Chengdu, by contrast, had seven on target from 18 attempts and did not need more than that.
Chengdu now sit on 51 points after 25 games, one ahead of whoever sits second. Shenyang remain on 25 points from 24 matches, still four behind the safety zone. The gap between them is not closing quickly.