“I lost. I have nothing special to say about the game. It’s our fault.” Kim Young-kwon (34) of Ulsan HD finished the Shanghai Port match (1-3) on Nov. 26.
Ulsan lost at a match against Shanghai at its home on Wednesday, and lost for the fifth straight time in the AFC Champions League (ACLE) in the 2024-25 season. It lost all five games, the lowest among 12 teams in the ACLE East Asia.
The situation is not good, either. Ulsan has scored one goal and 13 goals in five ACLE matches this season. Ulsan has recorded the most goals (62 goals) and the least goals (40 goals) in 38 K-League matches this season, thus clinching the trophy.
It’s not that he has no experience in the Asian stage.
Ulsan was the team that advanced to the ACLE semifinals last season. Ulsan has also secured two undefeated wins in the ACL.
There is no reason for the team’s mood to subside.
Ulsan achieved its third consecutive K-League 1 title this year. Ulsan had been under severe challenge from Gangwon FC and Gimcheon Sangmu, but confirmed its championship title this season with two more games left in the league.
Ulsan is also in the final of this season’s Korea Cup. Ulsan will have a showdown with the Pohang Steelers in the Korea Cup final at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Wednesday.
The final match is a single game. If Ulsan wins the match on the day, it will achieve its first double (league + Korea Cup championship) as a team. 메이저사이트
Kim Young-kwon viewed the difference in performance between Korea and ACLE as follows.
“I don’t think there’s much difference in performance. There are mistakes that we don’t usually make in the league in ACLE. The mistakes are being repeated. They don’t seem to follow in luck, either. The reason we’re doing poorly in the ACLE is because we collapsed ourselves. So did Shanghai. It collapsed when we lost a point by mistake. This is something we need to correct. We need to reduce our mistakes as much as possible.”
Ulsan cannot afford to be disappointed with its ACLE performance. This is because the Korea Cup final is just around the corner.
Kim Young-kwon said, “We have to win the Korea Cup without fail,” and stressed, “We have to win the Korea Cup under any circumstances.”
“Every player understands the importance of the Korea Cup final,” Kim said. “The coaching staff constantly talks about the importance of the Korea Cup. “Double” is an opportunity to write a new history. I will prepare well.”