JIANGSU Suning pulled off a historic victory by beating defending champion Guangzhou Evergrande 2-1 on aggregate in their two-legged clash to claim its first Chinese Super League (CSL) title Thursday.

The first leg ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

Suning is one of the most effective counterattacking teams in the CSL. The side did an excellent job in the first leg and was even more clinical in the second leg.

Evergrande has one of the best squads in China. Before the final Thursday, Evergrande held a massive advantage over Suning and has won 15 games out of a total of 27 encounters between the two teams. Suning has managed only five victories against the Chinese power house.

On Wednesday, Beijing Guo’an drew with Shanghai SIPG 1-1 and locked up third place 3-2 on aggregate in 3rd place playoffs, directly securing a ticket for the AFC Champions League (ACL) next season.

“There was a little bit of slack in the first half, but we played very well on the defensive end and scored a counterattack goal,” Guo’an manager Bruno Genesio said after the match.

“As Shanghai equalized in the second half with massive offense, our players were mentally and physically focused to keep a 1-1 draw and qualify for the ACL. I’m very grateful for their effort in the past four months.”

Genesio was not satisfied with the third place his club achieved, as he had been aiming for the title. “It was extremely disappointing to get eliminated just one step away from the finals by Guangzhou Evergrande,” said Genesio. “We had to get away with it and bounce back. We’ve shown our attitude in the games against Shanghai as a top team.”

Meanwhile, SIPG manager Vitor Pereira lamented the result while praising his own side.

“We played well and created lots of chances. It was a pity that we didn’t manage to score more. We did better than our opponents and we deserved to finish third. It’s not our lucky day today.”

SIPG will now have to win the Chinese FA Cup in order to qualify for next season’s Asian Champions League.

“It will be up to the club to prioritize the FA Cup and remaining AFC games this season. I always want to field the best players but I will communicate with the club,” said Pereira.

Shijiazhuang Ever Bright was relegated from the CSL to League One when it lost 2-1 to Wuhan Zall in the second leg of their playoffs Wednesday.

Shijiazhuang, which drew with Wuhan 0-0 in their first leg, finished bottom of the Coronavirus-affected season and was relegated.

Wuhan will vie with Zhejiang Greentown, the runner-up of the second-tier league, for a CSL spot next season in another two-legged playoffs, which will take place Nov. 18 and 22.

(SD-Xinhua)