CSL Penalty-Free Standings: Rongcheng Leads with 12 Points! Guo'an Rises to 3rd, Defending Champion Only 3 Points Above Relegation Zone

As of August 2nd Beijing time, all matches of the 21st round in the Chinese Super League have concluded. In the penalty-free standings, which reflect teams' actual performance, Rongcheng still holds a commanding lead. Meanwhile, Beijing Guo'an is set to climb to third place, and Zheng Zhi's Qingdao West Coast will move up to fourth.

Despite experiencing a five-match draw streak, Rongcheng continues to dominate the penalty-free standings. However, compared to their 14-point lead in the actual standings, their advantage in the penalty-free standings narrows to 12 points.

After defeating Harbor this round, Shandong Taishan remains in second place. Beijing Guo'an jumped from sixth to third following a last-minute victory over Zhejiang. Zheng Zhi's Qingdao West Coast surged from ninth to fourth, with both Guo'an and West Coast tied at 31 points.

The teams previously ranked third to fifth in the penalty-free standings — Shenhua, Tongliang Long, and Zhejiang — all lost this round, causing their rankings to drop to varying degrees. After a draw this round, Dalian Yingbo joined the trio with 29 points, placing these four teams in positions five through eight.

Yukun suffered a two-goal comeback this round, dropping two places. Henan remained in tenth place, while Tianjin Jinmen Tiger moved past Harbor after four consecutive wins to claim eleventh.

Harbor fell to twelfth place, and the defending CSL champion's gap to the relegation zone narrowed from four points in the actual standings to three points. The ranking of Tieren remained unchanged.

Among the bottom three, Shenzhen Xinpengcheng, who defeated Chongqing Tongliang Long this round, and Qingdao Hainiu, who lost the local derby this round, swapped positions. Both Hainiu and Three Towns find themselves in the relegation zone in both the actual standings and the penalty-free standings.