Gwangju FC, which pledged to do well by beating Ulsan, the ‘strongest team’ 1-0,
to catch up with second-place Pohang by 2 points and gain an advantage in advancing
to the ACLE,
saying, “We will make noise in the remaining games as we have come up noisy,” is now the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions. Let’s take a look at the league (ACL) and elite (ACLE) stages. 굿모닝토토 도메인
Gwangju defeated Ulsan Hyundai 1-0 with Lee Kun-hee (25)’s winning goal in the 43rd minute of the second half in the K League 1 round 34 home game held at Gwangju Soccer Stadium on the 21st. Ulsan, which achieved the best performance in the history of the first half of K League 1 this season (15 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses, 47 points, 43 goals), was caught by Gwangju and suffered its 7th loss (20 wins, 7 draws). Gwangju defeated Ulsan 2-0 in September and won again on this day, becoming the only team to have suffered two losses to Ulsan this season. Gwangju, which has won three games in a row, has 57 points (16 wins, 9 draws, 9 losses), closely chasing second place Pohang (15 wins, 14 draws, 5 losses) by 2 points.
Gwangju can now aim for ACLE. Starting next season, AFC will hold club competitions divided into ‘ACLE’ and ‘ACL2’. According to UEFA, ACLE is the Champions League and ACL2 is the Europa League. If the top 3 team in K League 1 wins the FA Cup, the 4th place team will participate in ACL2. With the win on this day, Gwangju trailed the second-place Pohang Steelers (15 wins, 14 draws, 5 losses, 59 points) by 2 points.
Daejeon, who created a sensation early in the season along with Gwangju, drew 1-1 in their home game against Suwon FC at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on this day. Daejeon recorded 46 points (11 wins, 13 draws, 10 losses) and widened the gap with Suwon FC (8 wins, 8 draws, 18 losses, 32 points) to 14 points, confirming at least 9th place. Daejeon, ranked 8th, was able to remain in K League 1 for the first time in 8 years.
Daejeon coach Lee Min-seong said, “Because of the good results in the first round, we were unable to motivate the players further,” and added, “We will prepare to rebuild the team with a fresh mind in the remaining four games.” FC Seoul, who were unfortunately relegated to Split B, won 2-1 in the match against Gangwon FC held at Seoul World Cup Stadium.