Match Report
On the table this was a mismatch: Liaoning Tieren FC (1st, 68 pts) held a 32-point advantage over Nanjing City (11th, 36 pts). Nanjing City had been over-performing their table position on recent form: 7th in the league over the last five rounds against 11th overall. Scoring rates set the scale: Nanjing City 1.33 scored and 1.6 conceded per game, Liaoning Tieren FC 2.13 and 0.9, with the league averaging 1.31.
Momentum sat with Liaoning Tieren FC, winners of their last four. The five-game form split read 6/15 points for Nanjing City against 13/15 for Liaoning Tieren FC.
Across 5 recorded meetings, Nanjing City have 0 wins to Liaoning Tieren FC's 2, with 3 draws, at 3.4 goals per meeting. Home advantage has meant little here: 40% of the meetings went to the host. Three-plus goals is the norm here, arriving in 60% of the meetings, and both sides scored in 60%.
The venue was Youth Olympic Sports Park, with room for 18,000 spectators. It was 0-0 at the break, and the second half added 2 goals for the 1-1 full-time score.
Goal scorers
Nanjing City: Dong Honglin (88') · Liaoning Tieren FC: Jiarun Gao (84')
Key stats
Possession: Nanjing City 47% · Liaoning Tieren FC 53% · Total shots: 9-10 · On target: 4-3 · Corners: 1-5