Total goals lead the Chinese Super League! The assist king connects with the top scorer, Yukun's "first victory" over the league leader.

By Zuo Rui. By Zuo Rui. A 1-0 win saw Yunnan Yukun defeat Chengdu Rongcheng for the first time in the Chinese Super League. The only goal at the Yuxi Plateau Sports Center Stadium on the evening of the 8th allowed Oscar (16 goals) on the scorer list and Yonicha (12 assists) on the assist list to extend their respective leads, and also allowed Yukun to surpass the visitors by one goal, becoming the team with the most league goals (43).

Precisely because they had too few clean sheets, with fluctuating form and inconsistent performances, Yukun entered the match tied with Shenzhen Xinpengcheng at the top of the Chinese Super League for most goals conceded (41). Chengdu Rongcheng, who conceded the fewest goals, were leading the league but had also been struggling recently, having drawn five consecutive league matches. During that period, they faced Yukun in the FA Cup and drew in regular time, then lost on penalties and were eliminated.

Yukun head coach Jordi stated before the match that the third meeting between the two teams this season would be a wonderful and tough game, but they "must leave the three points at our home ground." Compared to the starting lineup that lost to Tianjin in the previous round, he made adjustments in the goalkeeper and full-back positions: Wang Zhifeng replaced Bao Yaxiong, and Xu Hongjie took over from Zhang Chenliang. The midfield-forward line consisting of Xu Xin, Kayo, Yonicha, Hou Yongyong, Oscar, and Buniya Ming continued to receive his trust.

After kickoff, Rongcheng's newly re-signed center forward Felipe showed some impressive moments, but they fell into the offside trap three times in the first 10 minutes. Although they managed a few successful offside beats later, none of them led to attacks of sufficient quality and threat.

In the 14th minute, Yukun won their first corner kick. Yonicha took it, and Burke jumped at the back post, nearly scoring with a header. After that, young player Buniya Ming played with great confidence, repeatedly creating danger with his speed and long-range shots. In the 33rd minute, Hou Yongyong's shot inside the penalty area was too central, and the goalkeeper collected it. Just before halftime, Oscar hit the crossbar with a header, but a foul was called first.

Shortly after the second half began, the goal finally came. In the 48th minute, Yukun earned their sixth corner kick, again taken by Yonicha. This time, the intention was more subtle, and the landing point was further back. Oscar headed in a long-distance, precise header, which unexpectedly turned out to be the only valid goal of the entire match.

Earlier, the visitors' Silva had a header that beat Yukun's goalkeeper in the first half; in the 81st minute, Yukun midfielder Kayo also scored a one-on-one shot into the net. However, both goals were disallowed for offside. In the previous four encounters between these two teams, three of them had at least three goals.

In the final stages, neither the substitutions by both sides nor the seven minutes of stoppage time could change the scoreline that was enough to make Yunnan fans cheer endlessly. The 1-0 result not only gave Yukun their first clean sheet in the last ten matches, but also made the winning side among the 22,995 spectators feel that the ticket price was well worth it.

After the match, Oscar said in an interview that he was very happy to get the crucial three points and looked forward to "going further in the future." Jordi said that the team's performance was excellent, but unfortunately many opportunities were not converted into goals. Regardless, he congratulated the whole team: "We defeated the league leader at home and smoothly obtained the valuable three points."