Dalian Yingbo Win First Chinese Super League Title as Chengdu Collapse on Final Day

Dalian Yingbo won the Chinese Super League title for the first time on Sunday, November 8, 2026, beating Tianjin Jinmen Tiger 3-1 at home on the final day while leaders Chengdu Rongcheng lost 3-2 at Shandong Taishan. The two clubs finished level on 52 points, and Dalian took the title on the head-to-head record after beating Chengdu in both league meetings between the sides this season, Reuters reported.

A final day that flipped late

Dalian started the day three points behind Chengdu and had to win. Chengdu, coached by former Australia international John Aloisi, needed only a draw in Jinan to take their first title. Shandong scored twice in the first 23 minutes, through Raphael Merkies in the 15th minute and Guilherme Madruga in the 23rd, and Chengdu spent the rest of the afternoon chasing the game, Reuters reported. Chengdu pulled the score back to 3-2 late in the match, and one more goal would have been enough to win the title on the day. It never came.

At the Dalian Suoyuwan Football Stadium, Huang Shan scored Dalian's third goal from close range in the fourth minute of stoppage time to settle the home win, Reuters reported. Ghanaian winger Frank Acheampong was among Dalian's leading players across the season, finishing with 12 goals and four assists, GhanaSoccernet reported. About 60,000 supporters were in the stadium for the final match.

How the lead disappeared

Chengdu's collapse decided the season as much as Dalian's run did. Chengdu held a lead that once stood at 12 points, then took one point from their last five matches, a run that included a 1-0 home loss to Dalian in the penultimate round, Reuters and Flashscore reported. Dalian won their last five matches in a row to draw level on points at the top.

The league separates teams level on points by head-to-head results before goal difference. Chengdu finished with the better goal difference, but Dalian had won both meetings between the two clubs, and that record decided the title, Football360 reported. The title is the first Chinese Super League championship for Dalian Yingbo, a club playing at the Suoyuwan stadium, which opened in 2023 and holds more than 63,000 people.

Chengdu had led the standings from the opening day of the season and needed one point from their final four matches to make the title safe, but lost all four, GhanaSoccernet reported. Dalian's coaching staff includes former A-League head coach Marko Rudan as an assistant coach. Five straight wins to close the season carried Dalian from three points behind at the start of the final day to champions by the end of it.