Professional soccer’s K League 1 ‘gusting promotion team’ Gwangju FC defeated FC Seoul to extend its winning streak to three games.
Gwangju defeated Seoul 1-0 in the 30th round of the Hana OneQ K League 2023 on Sunday at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
With the win, Gwangju continued its unbeaten streak in its last 10 matches (5 wins, 5 draws), including three consecutive victories.
In addition, Gwangju picked up three valuable points after nine games (two draws and seven losses) without a win against Seoul.
Gwangju also had the added bonus of breaking the “Seoul World Cup Stadium jinx” by winning for the 11th time in 10 matches at Seoul World Cup Stadium, having previously drawn one and lost nine.
With the win over Seoul, Gwangju also maintained its record of picking up points against all of its former clubs this season.
The high-flying Gwangju maintained their third-place position (48 points) and moved to within eight points of the second-place Pohang Steelers (56 points).
Seoul (43 points), which earned its first win under acting head coach Kim Jin-gyu in Round 29, dropped one spot to fifth after losing fourth place to Daegu FC, which beat Suwon Samsung earlier in the day.
Lee Jung-hyo played an “attacking football” with Thomas and Heo Yul as the front two and a full back line.
Shortly after the start of the first half, Gwangju, who gradually dug into the center with concise passes from the left flank, tasted the first goal.
Ha Seung-woon’s sensational one-touch heel pass found Heo Yul, who cut low with her left foot in the penalty area to find the far corner of the net. Heo’s goal proved to be the game-winner.
Gwangju nearly equalized in the 18th minute when Seoul’s Kim Shin-jin broke down the right flank, but the offside flag was raised and the ball swept across his chest.
Gwangju, who struggled to contain Seoul’s fierce offense after introducing Ilyuchenko in the second half, seemed to get a breather when Uhm Ji Sung scored in the 37th minute.
However, the video assistant referee (VAR) ruled that a foul occurred first, and Um’s goal was nullified.
Meanwhile, at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann watched the match along with coach Cha Doo-ri and Michael Mueller, chairman of the Korea Football Association’s National Strength and Conditioning Committee.
After watching Jeonbuk Hyundai and Gangwon FC play at Jeonju World Cup Stadium the day before, Klinsmann was in attendance for the second consecutive K League 1 match.
With his appearance against Gwangju, Ki Sung-yueng reached 200 career matches in Seoul.
There were 21,165 fans in attendance at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, bringing Seoul’s attendance to 349,281 after 16 home games this season, a new record for Seoul since the introduction of the promotion system in 2013.
The previous record was 342,134 in 19 home games in 2016.
At Suwon World Cup Stadium, visitors Daegu FC overcame a numerical disadvantage to defeat Suwon Samsung 1-0 and move up to fourth place (44 points).
Vassellus scored the winning goal in second-half stoppage time after a nice solo run.
Daegu, which has won three straight, jumped three spots from seventh.
It was also a big achievement for the team to collect three points without Sejingya, who suffered a fractured rib.
Suwon could have climbed out of last place with a win, but instead settled for 12th place (22 points).
While Suwon dominated the game, Daegu tried to score with their trademark quick counterattacks.
Shots were exchanged, but goals were hard to come by.
In the 36th minute, Daegu’s Go Jae-hyun’s left-footed curling shot went just wide left of the goal, and in the 42nd minute, Suwon’s Go Seung-beom’s left-footed shot from the front of the goal area was blocked by Kim Jin-hyuk’s tackle.
Suwon made a big change at the start of the second half, bringing on Mulicic, Werikpopo, and Lee Ki-Jae at once.
The game remained tense until the 13th minute of the second half when Daegu midfielder Beltola was sent off.
While dribbling, Beltola struck Werikpopo in the face with his right heel as he tried to contest the ball. The referee confirmed it with the video assistant referee (VAR) and immediately pulled out a red card.
However, despite their numerical advantage, Suwon continued to press forward.
After nine minutes of extra time, it was Daegu who had the last laugh.
In the 51st minute, Vaselus received the ball on the left side of the field and beat one of his opponents with a lightning-fast dribble before firing a powerful shot from the left square of the goal that rattled the net. 스포츠토토