years on a free transfer, as well as Qin Sheng on a half-year loan from Shanghai Shenhua, then extended the contract with Nyasha Mushekwi for two years. Upon their return to China, Yifang signed Jin Pengxiang from Beijing Guoan on a half year loan. Fonte would terminate the contract with the club, as Riascos will take his position as foreign player. July Yifang started the second half of the season with 5-0 aggregate victory against China League Two team Sichuan Jiuniu in the FA cup, to enter the semi-finals. Cui Ming'an scored a volley from outside the box in the second leg. However, the team did not gained victory in the league since their return as multiple players could not attend the match. Wang Yaopeng, Zhu Ting, Li Shuai and Zhou Ting all had muscle issues, while Carrasco did not return until 31 July. August Yifang lost 3 games in a row until the August 1 match against Changchun Yatai. Yang Shanping received a red card as soon as the game started. Li Shuai was called up for China U23 squad to prepare for the 2018 Asian Games, and Yifang gained advantage of using 1 less U23 player than required until 10 August. The losing streak was terminated by a successful 1-0 home revenge to Shanghai SIPG on 5 August. Carrasco scored the only goal after returning from the World Cup. Zhu Xiaogang received a severe 6-match suspension for giving the finger to Shanghai SIPG players after the match. Shortly after, Nyasha Mushekwi scored the first and only hat trick in squad this season, to beat Guangzhou R&F by 3-0, but would miss the next match for accumulating 4 yellow cards. This victory brought Yifang out of the relegation area for the first time this season. Yifang defeated relegation opponent Henan Jianye by 2-1. Although Zhang Chong made a crucial mistake to give Ricardo Vaz Te a gift goal, Mushekwi scored twice to bring the team back to life. Much controversy appeared as Schuster used regular startups in the FA cup match against Shandong Luneng, that the team's performance would be limited by frequent fixtures. Yifang obtained a 1-1 away draw from another relegation opponent, Chongqing Dangdai, on 25 August. Noticeably, on 12 August, FIFA ordered Iraqi club Al-Shorta SC to pay a final $805,000-worth compensation to Yifang. Al-Shorta signed Nashat Akram in 2014 from Dalian Aerbin, but Akram left