Shandong Luneng missed out a place in next year’s AFC Champions League following the 3-0 defeat to Guizhou Zhicheng in Chinese Super League game on Sunday.
With only one round remaining, Felix Magath’s side are five points behind fourth-placed Tianjin Quanjian and lost hope of making it to the top four this season.
Meanwhile, Manuel Pellegrini’s Hebei CFFC are just one win away from qualifying for the AFC Champions League for the first time in the club’s history after beating champions Guangzhou Evergrande 3-0 on the same day.
The top three teams in Chinese Super League, alongside CFA Cup winners will automatically earn ACL tickets next season.
But if second-placed Shanghai SIPG earn the CFA title in the final, the 4th place team of the CSL, which are currently held by Tianjin, would also qualify for next season’s AFL.
