Shanghai Shenhua picks up first division soccer title

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, December 01, 2003

Shanghai Shenhua picks up first division soccer title

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Shanghai Shenhua trounced but pick up Chinese first division soccer title

Shanghai Shenhua suffered a 1-4 away fiasco to Shenzhen in the last round of the last edition of the Chinese first division soccer league in Shenzhen on Sunday afternoon but luckily picked up the title as their main rival Shanghai International also lost.

It was the second time for Shanghai Shenhua to be crowned in the 10-year-old top-level league in China, which will be replaced by the Chinese premier league next year. The first came in 1995.

Shenhua's Derby rival International closely followed it on the standings with 54 points, only one point less than the leader, before the last round, while seven-time league champions Dalian placed third with 53 points but had already completed their leaguejourney.

Shenzhen, which stood fourth with only 44 points before the final round, showed their great spirit and skill in today's match,totally controlling the game. Their waves of attacks were paid back in the 5th minute when fast-pace striker Li Yi tucked in Zheng Zhi's cross from a close range to gift the side 1-0 lead.

Zheng Zhi won a penalty shot in 55th minute for a pant pulling,which was cashed in by Li Yi through a tricky slow-straight shot. Li finished his hat-trick in the 78th minute by volleying a long cross from the corner.

Li became one of the top scorers of the league with 14 goals later, along with Shanghai Shenhua's Honduras striker Saul Martinez and Shenyang's Ghana striker Kwame Ayew.

Shenhua's nightmare continued in the 80th minute when they saw the fourth goal by Shenzhen. Shenhua had no effective attack and defense all through the match. Their only goal came from a penaltyshot as a face-saving beneficence only five minutes to go.

However, Shenhua luckily claimed the title as International suffered an unbelievable 1-2 home loss to Tianjin, who can't afford to lose the match in order to get a berth in next year's premier league.

Despite playing in Shanghai and facing obviously stronger opponents, Tianjin kept their attacking form from the very beginning to the end. Lu Yan saved Tianjin from relegation by netting two goals in the 37th and 79th minute respectively. The uneasy win gifted Tianjin a position in the forthcoming premier league but cost Shanghai International their champions title.

In other matches (home teams first) of the last round, Shaanxi lost to Shenyang 1-2, Beijing beat Sichuan 3-1, Shandong lost to Liaoning 1-2, Chongqing lost to Qingdao 1-3.

Three teams Chongqing, Bayi, and Shaanxi, who had been struggling in the relegation area for most of this season, were not fortunate enough to escape and had to say bye-bye to next year's premier league.

Final standings of Chinese first division soccer league

Following are the final standings of the Chinese first division soccer league after Sunday's last round (tabulated under games played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against and points):

Shanghai Shenhua 28 17 4 7 56 33 55 - champions

Shanghai International 28 16 6 6 39 26 54

Dalian 28 15 8 5 44 22 53

Shenzhen 28 12 11 5 42 21 47

Shenyang 28 11 10 7 35 31 43

Liaoning 28 11 8 9 39 34 41

Yunnan 28 11 7 10 30 27 40

Sichuan 28 9 10 9 41 41 37

Beijing 28 9 9 10 34 26 36

Tianjin 28 8 12 8 41 33 36

Qingdao 28 10 5 13 40 50 35

Shandong 28 8 9 11 42 46 33

Chongqing 28 6 8 14 21 34 26

Bayi 28 6 4 18 23 59 22

Shaanxi 28 3 5 20 28 62 14

Note: the top 12 teams are qualified for the Chinese premier league to be launched next year.

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