Gangwon and Seoul, which succeeded in advancing to the Final A, their first goal, will now clash with each other for the berth in the Asian Champions League (ACL). Seoul will stage a match between Gangwon, which seeks revenge, and Gangwon, which seeks to continue its good momentum.
Gangwon FC and FC Seoul will play the 34th round of Hana Bank K League 1 2024 at Gangneung Stadium at 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Currently, Gangwon FC is ranked third with 55 points, while Seoul FC is ranked fifth with 50 points.
A fierce competition is expected. If the team wins this match, Gangwon will be ranked second and Seoul fourth. The coaches of both teams have expressed their commitment to catch each other. At the final round media day held on Friday, Gangwon coach Yoon Jeong-hwan said, "The match against Seoul will be a watershed moment," expressing his commitment to Seoul as a "mountain" that must be won. "Since we were strong against Gangwon, we will be able to play the rest of the match in a good mood if we catch Gangwon," Seoul coach Kim Ki-dong said.
Seoul is absolutely strong in its matches. With two wins and one draw this season, the team has 19 wins, 11 draws, and nine losses in its career matches. On the other hand, Gangwon is struggling, with its last win against Seoul going back to April last year. Who will be the team that will smile in the final showdown of the season? The results will soon be revealed whether Gangwon will succeed in "swallowing" or whether Seoul will establish itself as Gangwon's new "natural enemy."
# Gangwon has 'one goal in three games' against Seoul, and there is no 'despair' without a rebound in the offense
"It is important to keep the ranking now, but I am aiming to go one step further." This is Yoon Jung-hwan's commitment ahead of Final A. Few experts expected Gangwon to reach Final A before the season, but now it is looking beyond the primary goal to advance to the ACL, which is the secondary goal.
This season, Gangwon was devastated. Gangwon had never played in the playoffs last season. Under coach Yoon Jeong-hwan, Lee Sang-hun showed off his talents and Yang Min-hyuk, a "super rookie," appeared. In defense, he effectively changed the positions of Hwang Moon-ki, Lee Ki-hyuk, and Lee Yoo-hyun, adding a sense of stability. Kang, who has shown good performance in both offense and defense, is aiming to win the first match of Final A.
However, the opponent is Seoul, the "mountain that must be crossed," which has never won a game this season. As coach Yoon Jeong-hwan said, Gangwon needs to go over the "mountain of Seoul" in order for it to head higher.
The core of this season's soccer is offensive power. He ranks first in scoring the most with 58 goals in the league, and is ranking second in effective shots (4.8 goals) and big chance creation (66 times) per game. However, he failed to display aggressive soccer that he is good at against Seoul.
In the past three matches, Gangwon had only one goal. This is an unfamiliar number to a team that has 1.76 goals per game this season. Detailed indicators also show sluggishness of its strikers. The team only created two big chances in three matches, and failed to create a single big chance in the previous match. This is in stark contrast to the past in which it created a total of 66 big chances and more than two goals per match this season. As a result, in the two matches that lost the game, it had an average of three shots on goal, falling short of the season average of 4.8 shots on goal.
In the end, Gangwon's offense must revive to get revenge against Seoul. There are factors that can be expected to rebound. Lee Sang-hun and Yang Min-hyuk, the top two scorers in the team who have played all games, had a sweet A-match break. They seemed to be in strength at the end of the regular round, but they are recovering their tired mind and body ahead of the sluggish match against Seoul, seeking to score and win. The supporters who will support them are also expected to return. Henry and Kim Kyung-min, who were out due to injuries, are seeking to return to the match against Seoul. If the two players join, they can provide an opportunity to change the flow of the game directly while relieving the physical burden of the main players.
The fact that the match is being played at home in Gangwon Province also raises expectations for revenge. Gangwon scored 38 goals in 16 home games this season. The team has strong firepower, with more than two goals scored per game. As the only goal scored against Seoul this season came from a home game in Chuncheon, the team is determined to avenge the loss by having a goal feast at home.
# Seoul is aiming to advance to the ACL of the 'second goal' by drawing 'blue light' against Seoul
Kim Ki-dong's Seoul team has returned to the Final A stage for the first time in five years. It suffered ups and downs in the early part of the season, but from the middle of the season, Kim Ki-dong clearly showed his style and entered the Final A in fifth place. Now, Seoul aims to advance to the ACL. If the team wins the match against Gangwon, it will rank fourth and trail Gangwon, the third place, by two points, the final line for advancing to the ACL.
Seoul is drawing a "blue light" from the results of the last showdown. Seoul's performance against Gangwon in this season was impressive. Seoul has scored five goals and conceded only one goal in three matches, gaining the upper hand with two wins and one draw.
According to the detailed indicators, in the game where Seoul won, they showed a common lead in "tackle success," "walking," and "ball competition victory." This shows that Gangwon's attack was suppressed by playing soccer that was more active and one step further than Gangwon. Even in the aggressive indicators, he created a total of five "big chances" in three games, harassing Gangwon's defense and showing the decisive ability to convert three of them into goals.
The key to offense and defense is Lingard and Yazan, respectively. Yazan, who joined the team last summer, has completely solved Seoul's defensive woes. With a strong physical defense, he leads four of the seven games he has played without losing a point. Yazan has only faced Gangwon once, but he has also shown good performance at the time. He remembers playing 90 minutes and leading the team to a scoreless victory by winning four tackles and nine clearings. 메이저놀이터
Lingard, who was strong against Gangwon, is drawing attention in the attack. During the last A-match break, he canceled his flight ticket to England and stayed in Korea to focus on treatment and recovery of his hamstring, preparing for all of Gangwon's appearances. Lingard has good memories against Gangwon. Although he was absent due to injury in the last four rounds,