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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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Gwangju Lee Jung Hyo-ho's gust was up to the quarterfinals.
Gwangju finished the first half 0-3 at 1:30 a.m. on the 26th (Korea time), allowing Sergei Milinkovic Savic, Marcos Leonardo and Salem Al Dosari to score a relay goal 33 minutes after the start of the 2024-2025 Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) quarterfinals against Al Hilal at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Gwangju, which advanced to the Asian club competition for the first time in the club's history this season and gained expectations for its miraculous advance to the quarterfinals, has not been able to overcome the weight gap with Al Hilal, who boasts the strongest squad in Asia. In the 6th minute of the first half, Sergei Milinkovic scored the first goal with a header from a corner kick, and in the 23rd minute, the side defense collapsed and gave Leonardo an additional goal. In the 33rd minute of the first half, Aldosari lost a point helplessly in a counterattack. Gwangju is not even able to show half of its performance in K League 1 due to nervousness in the home game of 'Virtually Al Hilal'.
If it does not rebound in the second half, Gwangju's ACLE challenge will end unfortunately. Gwangju has already secured $1.8 million (about 2.6 billion won) in prize money by advancing to the ACLE quarterfinals. It earned more than five times the K League 1 prize money (500 million won), opening up the club's financial management. Above all, Gwangju, a club with a short history, was announced throughout Asia. He also introduced the charm of Lee Jung-hyo's offensive soccer. However, coach Lee Jung-hyo said before the game, `I want to win. We need to win to build a new clubhouse"I threw my hat in the ring. While the tournament from the quarterfinals to the finals is held in Saudi Arabia, it is regrettable to play one quarterfinal match.
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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"It's either a dog or a development." Lee made the remarks in a pre-press conference. There was a glimpse of his willingness to set up an aggressive lineup. Manager Lee set up an aggressive lineup as announced. Brazilian striker Hayes, who shows off his peak form without an authentic striker, has made it to the zero-top. Asani, who tied for the lead in scoring with nine goals in ACLE this season, was placed on the right side, and Gabriel, who has excellent breakthrough ability, was placed on the other side. Park Tae-joon and Choi Kyung-rok Lee Kang-hyun, who delayed their enlistment for the ACLE schedule, set up a midfield camp, while Cho Sung-kwon, Byun Jun-su, Min Sang-ki and Kim Jin-ho formed a four-back. Kim Kyung-min defended the goal.
Al Hilal's squad was spectacular, as if it were `Asia's strongest.' Coach Jorge Jesus Al Hilal has Aleksandar Mitrovic, Salem al-Dosari, Malkong, Leonardo, Sergei Milinkovic-Savic, Hoobeng Neves, Henang Lodi, Kalidou Koulibaly, Hasan Tambakti, João Cancelo and Bunuro Best Eleven. The market value of the Al Hilal squad is 295 billion won (based on Transfermarkt), more than 20 times that of Gwangju (14 billion won). Coach Lee said earlier, `We are better at organizing than Al Hilal,' adding, `We must win and win the prize money to build a new clubhouse and weight center.'
Gwangju increased its momentum in the early stages, but allowed the first run in six minutes. In the context of a corner kick, Kovich Savic, who pushed the ball that Aldosari floated to the gate of Gwangju, scored the net with a cut header using his tall body at Near Post. 8 min Malkong's diagonal cross touched Mitrovic's forehead in the box, but it went off the post. Gwangju continued to lose ground in the height fight, literally realizing the 'weight car'.
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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8 min Gwangju got the first chance. Hayes poked a space pass to Asani, who was running to the opponent's gate, after acquiring ball ownership from the opponent's side. Asani, who caught the ball, attempted a left-footed shot in a one-on-one chance, but was blocked by Bunu's good defense, which emptied the goal and ran out, swallowing regret.
Another crisis came after the opportunity, but this time, the main goalkeeper Kim Kyung-min blocked additional runs with '3 consecutive saves'. Aldosari connected with a non-stop shot to Leonardo's cutback from the right side of the penalty area after digging into the back space of Gwangju's defense, but it was caught in Kim Kyung-min's hands. Mitrovic connected the bounced ball with a header, but Kim Kyung-min was blocked by his outstretched arm, and Savic's shot was also blocked.
However, Kim Kyung-min could not block all shots. Al Hilal, who was persistently digging into Gwangju's left side, scored an additional goal in the 25th minute. Savic's space pass quickly broke down Gwangju's defense. Malkong, who caught the ball from the right, stabbed a ground ball cross, which Leonardo accurately inserted into the bottom right of the goal with a non-stop right-footed shot. Savic and Leonardo, who are playing their best for Al Hilal this season, scored back-to-back goals.
Gwangju was shaken without mercy. In the 33rd minute, in a counter-attack, Leonardo was stabbed in a space pass by Aldosari running towards the gate. Aldosori, who caught the ball, scored his third goal after shaking off the defense's pursuit at high speed. Confused, coach Lee quickly pulled out the counterattack card by removing Gabriel in the 35th minute and putting in the afternoon. Hayes' right-footed shot in the 40th minute was thrown into the opponent's goalkeeper's arms without force. Al Hilal put Yasser al-Shahrani out of Cancelo, who injured his hamstring in the 42nd minute. In the second minute of extra time in the first half, Leonardo's mid-range shot went off the goal, and the first half ended with Al Hilal's 3-0 lead.
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
