One point is insufficient to alleviate immediate thirst, Tianjin Tigers' burden of negative points and the curse of the first round

Report by journalist Lu Mi On March 7, the second match day of the first round of the 2026 Chinese Super League season, Tianjin Tigers drew 0-0 at home against newly promoted Chongqing Tongliang Long. This historic first encounter raised the Tigers' points from -10 to -9, yet failed to break the curse of not winning in the first round of the CSL for 14 consecutive seasons since 2013. In other completed matches, Shandong Taishan, Shanghai Shenhua, and Henan Team, who also had deducted points, have already secured 3 points, while Shanghai Port and Qingdao Hainiu lost their games, missing the chance to catch up early.

This season, Tianjin Tigers' situation can be described as a "hellish start." Due to historical issues from their predecessor club Tianjin TEDA, they received the maximum penalty from the football association, starting the new season with -10 points. This means the team was already 10 points behind the relegation line before playing a match, equivalent to losing 3 to 4 victories beforehand. Head coach Yu Genwei stated the difficulties far exceeded expectations, and the team's relegation battle began from the first whistle.

In the first round, facing Chongqing Tongliang Long, who were making their debut in the CSL, the Tigers' home crowd's call for securing 3 points and breaking the curse peaked. During the match, the Tigers indeed showed a determined, desperate spirit. Xie Dini created threats twice, but both were thwarted by Chongqing Tongliang Long goalkeeper Yao Haoyang's last-ditch saves. Nevertheless, the Tigers maintained control of the game, with Tongliang Long only completing their first shot during stoppage time in the first half.

Employing a five-defender formation against the newly promoted team, the Tigers gave few opportunities to their opponents defensively. On offense, they repeatedly exploited spaces behind the defenders due to the opponent's advanced formation. The main threatening shots in the first half came from this approach. However, in the second half, the opponents also intensified flank attacks and used a five-defender, dual foreign center-back dense defense to counter the Tigers' offense, leading both sides into a stalemate of positional warfare.

After Ademi's departure, the Tigers' new offensive system currently seems to lack a true explosive point, and the attacking tactics are relatively monotonous, making it difficult to penetrate the newly promoted team's defense. In terms of possession, the Tigers had only a 0.2% advantage, and shot count was only 2 more than their opponent. Overall, the two sides were very evenly matched, so the final 0-0 draw is unsurprising.

The final whistle and the 0-0 score on the board extended Tianjin Tigers' (including predecessor Tianjin TEDA) record of not winning in the first round to 14 matches: 8 draws and 6 losses.

For Chongqing Tongliang Long, making their first CSL appearance, a 1-point start is entirely acceptable. For Tianjin Tigers, besides extending the 14-year first-round curse, this 1 point, while slightly easing pressure for a team urgently needing to reset their points to zero, was overshadowed by Shanghai Shenhua (also deducted 10 points) defeating Dalian Yingbo 5-3. Consequently, the Tigers had to accept being at the bottom of the standings.

Securing only 1 point against a newly promoted team means the pressure to gain points in every subsequent match will multiply. After all, comparing the head coaches, Yu Genwei's CSL experience far exceeds Liu Jianye's. From the team perspective, apart from Amadou, N'Gadeu, and阮奇龙, most of Tongliang Long's starting players are making their CSL debut. Therefore, the Tigers must accelerate their breakthrough under adversity; otherwise, this heavy burden of negative points may persist throughout the entire season.

In other completed first-round matches, some teams also starting with negative points have already secured victories. For instance, Shandong Taishan defeated newly promoted辽宁铁人 3-0, moving from -6 to -3 points and improving their ranking. Shanghai Shenhua, also penalized with a maximum 10-point deduction, defeated Dalian Yingbo 5-3 at home, bringing their points to -7 and moving out of the relegation zone. In the match between Shanghai Port and Henan Team, both penalized, Henan won 2-1, moving from -6 to -3 points. Qingdao Hainiu, deducted 7 points, played away against云南玉昆 but lost 1-3, thus falling into the relegation zone.

The situation is severe, and Yu Genwei certainly understands, but the team clearly still needs磨合时间: "It's regrettable that we didn't secure a win in the first match. We prepared arduously for this game. Before the match, I emphasized to the players the foundation of defense first. I believe we must prioritize solid defense. From the defensive perspective, the team's overall performance was good, but ultimately failing to score is indeed regrettable. I think the offensive end still requires further磨合 and training." Facing three本土 coaches, Liu Jianye, Chen Tao, and Li Jinyu, in three March matches presents crucial opportunities for the Tigers to gain points. Time is pressing; Tianjin Tigers must accelerate their磨合 to尽快摆脱 being at the bottom of the standings.