football-match
 |
| ▲ In this file photo from Aug. 29, 2021, Lee Dong-jun of Ulsan Hyundai FC (L) takes a shot against Incheon United during a K League 1 match at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, 415 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Yonhap) |
 |
| ▲ In this file photo from Aug. 25, 2021, Gustavo of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (L) celebrates his goal against Pohang Steelers with teammate Song Min-kyu during a K League 1 match at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap) |
 |
| ▲ In this file photo from May 19, 2021, Lee Chung-yong of Ulsan Hyundai FC (L) and Mo Barrow of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors battle for the ball during their K League 1 match at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap) |
 |
| ▲ In this file photo from Aug. 22, 2021, provided by the Korea Professional Football League, Mario Kvesic of Pohang Steelers celebrates his goal against FC Seoul during a K League 1 match at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
football-match
K League giants set for crucial clash
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- So they meet again.
The top two clubs in K League football will square off Friday night, with first-place Ulsan Hyundai FC hosting No.2-ranked Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, 415 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
This will be match No. 28 for both clubs. With 10 more matches left after this week, the title isn't on the line -- not yet anyway. But with no one else within striking distance of the top spot, every head-to-head match between these two giants will mean more than your average September contest.
Ulsan lead the way with 54 points, and Jeonbuk are four points back. Pohang Steelers are a distant third with 39 points.
Ulsan and Jeonbuk also dominated the league in each of the past two seasons, and Jeonbuk came out on top on both occasions. In 2020, Jeonbuk beat Ulsan on the penultimate weekend of the season en route to winning an unprecedented fourth consecutive title.
So far this year, Ulsan have been in first place for most of the season and went undefeated for the month of August with five wins and a draw.
Jeonbuk were in danger of falling back even further but scored a last-gasp goal to edge out last-place FC Seoul 4-3 on Sunday to reach the half-century mark in points. A draw would have left Jeonbuk six points back of Ulsan entering this week's match.
This is their third meeting of 2021. After a scoreless draw on April 21, Ulsan prevailed 4-2 on May 19.
That was Ulsan's first league win over Jeonbuk in two years and catapulted them to first place. They haven't come down since.
These two clubs are ranked 1-2 in goals scored, with Jeonbuk in the lead with 50 goals and Ulsan trailing at 46 goals. Jeonbuk have two of the league's top-five scorers in Stanislav Iljutcenko (12) and Gustavo (11). Lee Dong-jun leads Ulsan with nine goals, and they recently parted ways with their second-leading scorer Lukas Hinterseer, who left for the German club Hannover 96 at the end of August.
Among other notable matchups on the weekend, Pohang will host Daegu FC at 7:30 p.m. Friday, with Daegu, currently in fifth at 38 points, eyeing third place.
At 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, new FC Seoul boss An Ik-soo will make his debut coaching the last-place club against Seongnam FC, one of his former teams.
Park Jin-sub stepped down as FC Seoul coach Monday to hold himself accountable for a dismal showing so far.
FC Seoul are stuck in last place at 25 points, with Seongnam right above them at 27 points. The bottom feeders of the K League 1 are automatically relegated to the K League 2 for the following season.
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
