Daegu FC of the pro soccer team will have a showdown with Asan FC of South Chungcheong Province to stay in the K League 1, and Jeonbuk Hyundai, which barely managed to keep its 10th position, will face Seoul E-Land in the first playoff since its foundation. Stefan Mugosa of Incheon United, who became the top scorer of a relegation team for the first time in history, finished the season with his head down.
The match table for the K-League PO, which is the final gateway to promotion and relegation, has been completed. Daegu (40 points) ranked 11th by losing 1-3 to Incheon (39 points) in the final 38th round of the 2024 K-League 1 at DGB Daegu Bank Park on Sunday. The team will have an away match on Friday and an up-and-coming PO match against South Chungcheong Province Asan, ranking second in the K-League, at its home on March 1.
It is the first time for Daegu to play in a competition since the 2017 season when the team was promoted to the top division. While giving up 18 shots to Incheon, Daegu was beaten by Gervaiso for two goals and Ji Eon-hak for one goal. Park Jae-hyun recovered one goal during the extra time of the second half, but it was not enough to fill the gap of Cesinha, the ace who injured his ribcage. Mugosa, who was substituted in the 20th minute of the second half, failed to score on the day, but secured the top spot (15 goals). “This is the saddest time in my life. I want to change the top scorer to stay in the top division,” Mugosa once said after the team was demoted.
Jeonbuk (42 points) tied the match 1-1 with Gwangju FC in an away match. Thiago scored the first goal at the 29th minute of the second half but conceded the tying goal to Shin Chang-moo just before the game ended. Jeonbuk, which has confirmed its 10th place, will hold the promotion PO on December 1 and 8 due to its Asian Champions League 2 schedule. The opponent team is Seoul E-Land, which tied the Jeonnam Dragons 2-2 in the K-League 2 PO on the day. Seoul E-Land, which is ranked third in regular season, took advantage of its top team’s advantage to overtake South Jeolla Province, which is ranked fourth. 먹튀검증
In the top split of the K League 1, which ended the previous day, Pohang Steelers lost to Gangwon FC 0-1 and fell to sixth place. As a result, Pohang will not get a ticket to the Asian club competition next season without winning the Korea Cup or the Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE). If Ulsan wins the Korea Cup final between Ulsan HD and Pohang on the 30th, Ulsan and Gangwon will go straight to the ACLE finals, while Seoul will play in the ACLE PO and Suwon FC will play in the ACL2. If Ulsan loses, Pohang will get the ACL2 ticket instead of Suwon FC. However, it is subject to change depending on the ACLE results.
Meanwhile, Ulsan Park Chu-young scored one goal and one assist against Suwon FC in his retirement match on the previous day, completing 100 K-League individual attack points (77 goals and 24 assists). Yang Min-hyuk (Gangwon), who scored the farewell final goal in the match against Pohang, will join Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League on March 16.