Objectives Using a latest classification system, the study quantified the technical and tactical purpose of 27497 sprints in 173 matches in the 2021 season of the Chinese Football Super League (CSL).

Methods Employing the magnitude-based inference and the generalized mixed linear modelling, the difference of sprinting purpose of teams of different quality and matches ended with win, draw or loss was evaluated.

Results ① "Moving to receive the ball" is the most used sprinting when the team is in ball possession (making up 18.13% of the total), while "pressing or closing down" is the most used sprinting when the team is not in ball possession (making up 31.08% of the total). ② Among the championship group teams, the average number of sprinting aimed at "breaking into box", "pressing or closing down" and "intercepting" is clearly higher than that of the relegation group teams (the ES ranging from 0.44 to 0.57, likelihood > 75%). ③ The winning teams have a substantially higher average number of sprinting aimed at "running in behind" compared to the losing (ES = 0.41, likelihood > 75%) and drawing (ES = 0.46, likelihood > 95%) teams. The sprinting aimed at "pressing or closing down" are substantially lower for the losing (ES = 0.57, likelihood > 99.5%) and drawing (ES = 0.33, likelihood > 75%) teams.

Conclusion The sprint with the purpose of "pressing or closing down" is the most frequent in the matches of CSL. The sprint with purpose of "breaking into box", "pressing or closing down" and "interceptions" are indicators that discriminate the team strength; meanwhile, the sprint aimed at "running in behind" and "pressing or closing down" are indicators that determinate the outcome of the match.