China: Ighalo suffers relegation; Mikel survives

Odion Ighalo

Odion Ighalo’s Chinese Super League club, Changchun Yatai has been confirmed relegated to the second tier division after losing 2-0 to Dalian Yifang at the Dalian Sports Center Stadium in Sunday’s  CSL final league game.

The Super Eagles striker missed the game through a hamstring injury.

He netted 21 goals for his team this season to finish as the second top scorer in the CSL.

But his surplus strikes wasn’t enough to save the club fron the drop.

A goal in each half from Duvier Riascos and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco sent Changchun Yatai back to the second division for the first time in 15 years.

Changchun Yatai finished with 32 points from 30 games.

Mikel Obi’s club Tianjin Teda meanwhile survived the drop on the final day despite losing 5-1 away to Guangzhou Evergrande at the Tianhe Stadium.

They garnered 32 points but enjoyed a better head-to-head against Yatai.

Shanghai SIPG won the 2017/18  Chinese Super League (CSL) title for the first time ever.