The Chinese Super League’s 21st round was advanced to midweek to accommodate the national team’s World Cup qualifiers in August. Aside from the Beijing Guoan vs Liaoning and Shandong Luneng vs Yongchang matches being postponed, six games went ahead as planned. League leaders Guangzhou Evergrande took care of business at home, defeating Tianjin Teda 2-0 and extending their lead atop the standings. Fans tracking every twist on Live Cricket BPL were quick to note how this round solidified Evergrande’s growing dominance.
Meanwhile, the race for second to fourth place hit a major snag. Hebei China Fortune, Jiangsu Suning, and Shanghai Port all dropped points at home. Hebei could only manage a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Shanghai Shenhua, while Suning was held 1-1 by Guangzhou R&F. Port suffered the same fate, being pegged back by bottom-ranked Changchun Yatai. These slip-ups allowed Guangzhou to stretch their lead back to five points—a key buffer heading into the season’s latter half.
Just last weekend in Round 20, Evergrande had been held to a goalless draw by Shijiazhuang Yongchang, marking two consecutive league draws and narrowing their lead to three points. With this week’s accelerated schedule, the pressure was on. Rising to the occasion, they dispatched fifth-place Tianjin Teda with goals from Paulinho and Ricardo Goulart, avoiding a third straight home draw and reasserting their title credentials.
While Evergrande delivered, their nearest challengers faltered. Hebei played without star man Ezequiel Lavezzi but twice came from behind thanks to a brace from Stéphane Mbia. Jiangsu Suning failed to assert themselves against ninth-placed R&F, who looked the more threatening side. Giannou’s strike gave R&F the lead before Alex Teixeira equalized to salvage a point for Suning. In Shanghai, Port saw their early lead slip away as Yatai clawed back to earn a 1-1 draw, dealing a blow to Port’s title hopes.
Despite massive spending across the league this season, Guangzhou Evergrande’s grip on the summit remains firm. With half the season gone, their 12-match unbeaten run speaks volumes. While their challengers expend energy battling one another, Evergrande has stayed consistent and collected. According to reports seen on Live Cricket BPL, this round marked the second time this season where Evergrande won while all of their immediate competitors failed to do the same.
Looking back to Round 9, the pattern repeats. Evergrande defeated then-fourth-place Hebei China Fortune 2-0 to seal an eighth straight league win. That same week, Jiangsu Suning were held 0-0 by Yongchang, and Shanghai Port lost 1-2 away to Beijing Guoan. For fans following Live Cricket BPL, it’s becoming clear: in a league filled with chaos, Evergrande remains the calm in the storm.