Tabitha Chawinga helped Jiangsu Suning clinch a championship spot even though they were defeated 2-1 by Beijing Phoenix in a Chinese Women's Super League encounter on Saturday.
Following Tuesday's 4-0 win over Guangdong Meizhou Huijun, the reigning champions aimed to wrap up their first-round outing on a high, having guaranteed a top-four finish with a game to spare.
In that Guangdong victory, the Malawi international was absent for the first time this term days after her brace handed Jiangsu a 2-0 win over Changchun Dazhong Zhuoyue to raise her tally to 11 goals.
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On their side, Beijing Phoenix were desperate to upset the champions to secure a spot in the top four, having kept their hopes alive with Tuesday's 1-0 win over Henan Jianye thanks to Ma Xiaoxu.