Ulsan HD, the “K League 1 champion,” has become smaller on the Asian stage again.

Ulsan, led by head coach Kim Pan-gon, lost 1-3 to Shanghai Haigang (China) in Game 5 of the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) League Stage in the 2024-25 season at Munsu Football Stadium, its home stadium, on the 26th.

Ulsan was at the bottom of the group due to its loss in all five games. It managed to escape the humiliation of zero goals as it not only had no points but also scored for the first time in this match. Ulsan’s gain and loss is one point and 13 points for five games. Ulsan is the only country in the East Asian group that has yet to earn any points.

Ulsan won the K League 1 title again this year. It declared a dynasty after winning the championship for three consecutive seasons. However, it has failed to achieve a win in the ACLE. It was not possible to concentrate 100 percent on the day as well. As the Korean Cup finals are just around the corner, rotation of players at different positions was inevitable.

Still, the weight was considerable. Except for Cho Soo-hyuk instead of Cho Hyun-woo, the main goalkeeper, and Lim Jong-eun instead of Kim Ki-hee, the center back, they were the best. Joo Min-kyu, Kim Min-joon and Lee Chung-yong formed the three-top, while Lee Kyu-sung, Boyanich and Ko Seung-beom formed the midfield. Lee Myung-jae, Kim Young-kwon, Lim Jong-eun and Yoon Il-rok also played the four-back role.

For Shanghai, foreign players were spectacular. Starting players include Oscar, who spent his prime time with Chelsea, Matthias Vargas and Willian Pope, who played for Argentina’s national team. Ulsan failed to block Shanghai’s foreign players. Oscar’s pass at the 11th minute penetrated the back. As it was, he allowed Vargas to play one-on-one, leading to his first loss.

Ulsan lost another goal in the 23rd minute of the first half. It was self-destruction. Ko Seung-beom’s pass miss was fatal during the rear build-up. He lost to Oscar in front of the goal and Vargas pushed in again, widening the score to 0-2.

Ulsan had ample room to follow suit. In the 31st minute of the first half, Lee was fouled by Liang while Lee Chung-yong was dribbling through the opponent team’s side. The referee brought out a yellow card to Liang first. However, the decision was changed to direct exit after VAR, and the team gained numerical advantage.

I ended up playing for quite a long time, with the score tied at 11:10. Even with a two-goal gap, I was confident in chasing after the latter. Ulsan has increased its shooting attempts. As soon as the team started the second half, it excluded Lee Gyu-seong and deployed striker Yago, transforming the team into a two-top. Soon after, Ataru and Rubik’sson were also included, as players from overseas were actively utilized.

He focused on offense, announcing his pursuit. Although it was a little late, Joo Min-kyu scored a comeback goal in the 28th minute of the second half. Joo Min-kyu scored a corner kick from Lee Myung-jae. It was the first goal that Ulsan, which had been scoreless in the previous four games, scored in the tournament. 온라인카지노

He added more firepower to tie the match. Ulsan sent Arabidze in lieu of Lee Chung-yong at the 32nd minute of the second half. While focusing on offense, however, the team rather scored a wedge goal. He handed over the offensive right too easily to Shanghai, and Vargas’ wonder goal again opened the scoring. Vargas showed off his capability as a former member of the Argentine national team with hat tricks.

Ulsan had no additional points. It lost 1-3 to Shanghai, postponing its first win in the ACLE.

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