Ulsan HD, which boasted its “strongest team” by achieving its third consecutive K-League 1 win, suffered humiliating loss in all five matches in the Asian Football Club competition. The team has suffered a severe blow to its competitiveness in the league in addition to its sluggish performance.
Ulsan, led by head coach Kim Pan-gon, lost 1-3 to Shanghai Haigang (China), where one person was sent off in the fifth round of the 2024-25 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite League stage at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium on the 26th.
It was a shocking defeat not only for Ulsan fans but also for K-League fans. Ulsan had failed to generate significant chances despite its numerical advantage after Liang’s exit in the 31st minute of the first half, but allowed Matthias Vargas to score a hat-trick, which caused a humiliation of the disaster.
It was also not that he saved his power in preparation for the match against the Pohang Steelers in the Korea Cup final on the 30th. Cho Hyun-woo, the main goalkeeper of the national team, was absent due to accumulated fatigue, but all the main players, including Joo Min-kyu, Lee Chung-yong, Ko Seung-beom, Boyanich, Kim Young-kwon and Lee Myung-jae, started. On top of that, head coach Kim Pan-gon used all the available resources, such as using foreign players such as Yago, Ataru, Rubik’sson and Arabidze as replacement cards.
Ulsan, however, remained lethargic. After losing the ball in the 11th minute of the first half, it lost a point due to Shanghai Haigang’s attack, which happened after losing the ball in the 11th minute of the first half, before conceding an additional goal in the 23rd minute due to Ko Seung-beom’s fatal pass mistake. In the 38th minute of the second half, he was hit with a mid-range shot due to loose pressure despite the fact that he had far more defenders.
He was not simply fooled by the outstanding personal skills of foreign players such as Shanghai Hai River Vargas and Oscar. Ulsan was not able to launch sharp attacks that could sway the defense of the Shanghai Hai River throughout the game, and its back door was opened too easily by a few counterattacks. Due to the high average age of its players, the team even lost mobility in general. It also failed to take advantage of numerical advantage in its home games.
The problem is that Ulsan’s poor performance has been repeated. Ulsan has not won a point in five matches of the ACLE League stage. It has allowed as many as 13 goals and scored only one goal. Joo Min-gyu scored only one goal in 433 minutes through the Shanghai Hi-gang match. 토토사이트
The team that achieved the fourth consecutive feat in K League 1 has fallen to the level of a neighborhood book on the Asian stage. Gwangju FC (3-1) and Pohang (2-2) are doing well, but the level of K League 1 judged from the outside cannot be positive because the “champion” is being humiliated.
Ulsan will play against Shanghai Shenhua (China), Buriram United (Thailand), and Shandong Taishan (China) in turn. Even if Ulsan wins all three of these matches, it is highly unlikely that it will qualify for the round of 16 tournaments, which will be given to the top eight out of the 12 East Asian teams. Ulsan has a gap of seven points between eighth-ranked Shanghai Haigang (seven points).
Ulsan, which is experiencing a devastating event, is not limited to this ACLE. Ulsan will play again in the 2025-26 season as the K-League 1 winner in the 2024 season. If the current level is maintained without any preparation, the disaster will inevitably continue. In addition, concerns are growing over the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, in which Ulsan will represent the K-League.