In the professional soccer K-League 1, after the 11th round, all teams met their opponents once. With the first round robin over, the predictions by many experts prior to the opening, such as ‘Hyundai will go to Yanggang’ and ‘Big 4 including Incheon United’, all went wrong.
K-League 1 is divided into final rounds (Group A for 1st to 6th, Group B for 7th to 12th) after the 3rd round robin, and the rankings are determined after playing 5 games. It has just turned a lap, but with the exception of the ‘leading’ Ulsan Hyundai, the moves of many teams deviate from the expected trajectory and an ‘unpredictable’ season is drawn.
Ulsan, which lifted the K-League championship cup for the first time in 17 years last year, reigned as the ‘1st round’ as Jeonbuk Hyundai went downhill. In 11 matches, they recorded 9 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, and 28 points. The gap between 2nd and 4th place FC Seoul (20 points), Pohang Steelers (19 points), and Daejeon Hana Citizen (18 points) is 8-10 points.
Ulsan, who has been in the third year of manager Hong Myung-bo’s appointment, is checked against the opponent as a ‘defending champ’, but the trust of the players and coaches has strengthened and boasted upgraded football. The side build-up directed by Hong has become more sophisticated.
‘Lee Jeok-saeng’s performance’ made it more difficult to control Ulsan’s advance. Min-gyu Ju, a native goalkeeper who won the top scorer at Jeju United in 2021, returned to Ulsan after 4 years and scored 5 goals (1 assist) in the first round robin alone. Rubiksson, a Swedish outsider, also scored 5 goals (1 assist) with high goal-making power and played a central role in the attack. Recently, even the leading members of last year’s championship, 토토사이트 such as Martin Adam and Bakko, are participating in the scoring race.
The Jurgen Klinsmann soccer team is paying attention to the 3rd line Lee Gyu-seong and Park Yong-woo, who show off their successful game management. In addition, the last line of defense led by former and incumbent national players such as Kim Young-kwon, Jung Seung-hyun and Kim Ki-hee is becoming the ‘strongest shield’ with the league’s least conceded 1st place (9 conceded).
Pohang Steelers, who had great concerns about the transfer of Shin Jin-ho (Incheon), caused a ‘syndrome’ with the tactical capabilities and mercenary skills of agricultural coach Kim Ki-dong. Since the opening, they have been undefeated in 9 consecutive matches (5 wins, 4 draws). The tight organizational power is the highlight. In addition, the player who was put in as a substitute by manager Kim was responsible for 6 of the team’s 15 goals. There are 4 games (3 wins, 1 draw) where substitutes score winning goals or draws.
Pohang, in particular, attempted 93 shots in 11 games, ranking 11th out of 12 teams in the number of shots. Nevertheless, he continued to play high-efficiency football to the extent that he was ranked 4th in team scoring (15 goals).