14 points behind, 5 games left: this 🇨🇳 club won the title 🤯

The choke of the century.

Football has seen some legendary comebacks, but the one that has just rocked the Chinese Super League blows all previous benchmarks out of the water.

With five games to go, nobody, not even the most diehard Dalian supporter, would have bet a penny on their team winning the title.

Fourteen points behind a dominant, seemingly untouchable leader, the title already belonged to Chengdu Rongcheng, who only needed to put the finishing touches on their victory parade.

What happened next was pure drama of the kind only our favourite sport can deliver.

As the leaders sank into an uncontrollable spiral of anxiety, losing match after match, the newly promoted side took up the chase.

Win after win, the gap melted away before a crowd that turned Suoyuwan Stadium into a volcano, culminating in that unforgettable matchday 29, when Dalian went to Chengdu and laid down the law on their own turf, cutting the gap to a whisker.

Sunday's final act delivered the most theatrical ending imaginable.

Buckling under the pressure, Chengdu completely fell apart away at Shandong Taishan, losing 3-2.

Meanwhile, Dalian sealed victory over Tianjin, drawing level on points and snatching the national crown thanks to their head-to-head record.

Founded just three seasons ago and rising from amateur football, Dalian Yingbo have claimed the ultimate prize in their very first year in the top flight.

As incredible as it is surreal.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

📸 Lintao Zhang - 2023 Getty Images