It is a humiliation of the K-League champion. He won the K-League 1 title for three consecutive years this season, but it is a humiliating five-game losing streak at the Asian stage. The bigger problem is that he lost as many as 13 points in five matches.
Ulsan HD suffered a crushing 1-3 defeat against the Shanghai High River in the fifth round of the AFC Champions League phase in the 2024-25 season at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. With the loss, Ulsan was mired in five consecutive losses, staying at the bottom.
Ulsan, which aims to win its first game, deployed a 4-3-3 formation. Kim Min-joon, Joo Min-gyu, and Lee Chung-yong were deployed to launch attacks, and Lee Kyu-sung, Boyanich, and Ko Seung-bum established the midfield. Lee Myung-jae, Kim Young-kwon, Im Jong-eun, Yoon Il-rok, and Jo Su-hyuk defended the four backs. Away team Shanghai used a 4-1-2-1-2 formation, and deployed a number of key players, including Oscar, Vargas, and Pope.
Ulsan faced a crisis from the beginning of the game. In the 9th minute of the first half, Lee Myung-jae did not handle the ball well, and Vargas grabbed it and took it to the shot, but Kim Young-kwon blocked it. Eventually, Ulsan allowed the first goal. Vargas, who received Oscar’s through pass in the 11th minute of the first half, beat Kim Young-kwon and shook the net with a half-beat fast shot.
Another fatal mistake was made in defense. It was a build-up mistake that was not like a K-League champion. In the 23rd minute of the first half, it was lost to Oscar that Ko Seung-beom connected Cho Soo-hyuk’s pass in the opposite direction, and Vargas calmly finished Oscar’s pass.
Still, he had hope. As his opponent was sent off, he gained numerical advantage. In the 31st minute of the first half, Lee committed a deliberate foul while Lee Chung-yong intercepted Lee’s mistake and entered the box, and a red card was given to him after VAR.
Ulsan launched a full-blown offensive in the second half. Ulsan scored Yago, Ataru, and Rubik’sson to aggressively attack and recovered a goal. In the 28th minute of the second half, Joo Min-kyu shook the net with a header off a ball that Lee Myung-jae sharply raised at a corner kick. Since then, Ulsan has launched a full-blown attack by fielding Arabidze at the 32nd minute of the second half. 안전놀이터
Ulsan allowed an additional goal in vain. After receiving Oscar’s pass in the 37th minute of the second half, Vargas quickly surged up from the center and scored a powerful mid-range shot in a one-on-one situation with Kim Young-kwon. Ulsan counterattacked. Joo Min-gyu in the 39th minute of the second half and Rubik’sson in the 40th minute of the second half tried in succession, but they failed. Ultimately, Ulsan suffered a shocking defeat at its home turf.
Shocking five consecutive losses, Ulsan had to defend itself. The bigger problem lies in the defense. The team allowed as many as 13 goals in five matches through Sunday’s game. Ulsan performed well in the league this season by equipping its national team-class defense line with Lee Myung-jae, Kim Young-kwon, Kim Ki-hee, Hwang Seok-ho, and Lim Jong-eun, but failed to make a mistake on the Asian stage. As the team was unstable in the back, it couldn’t score well and received humiliating report card of one goal and 13 goals in five matches.