Lingard spoke directly about former captain Ki Sung-yueng's decision to leave.
FC Seoul won 4-1 in the 21st round of the 'Hana Bank K League 1 2025' against the Pohang Steelers at Sangam World Cup Stadium on the 29th. Seoul (30 points) jumped to sixth place with this victory.
Seoul was shaken by the news of Ki Sung-yueng's transfer before the game. Ki Sung-yueng recently confirmed his breakup with Seoul and is expected to join Pohang when the process is completed through a medical test on July 3. The fans were very disappointed. Some fans sent their disappointment to Champions Park, the training site. Ahead of the game, there was a hanger in the stands criticizing the club's decision, and shouts continued throughout the game to demand the resignation of the coach.
However, the result of the game was a complete victory for Seoul. Seoul took the lead in the 15th minute of the first half when Lingard scored a penalty kick won by Lucas. Lucas and Banks shook the net in the 32nd minute of the first half and the 4th minute of extra time in the first half. Seoul later lost one goal to Lee Dong-hee in the 29th minute of the second half, but Klimala sealed the match with her K-League debut goal in the 40th minute of the second half.
Lingard, who attended the press conference as a coach after the game, said "It was a game where victory was important. I thought the performance was good over the past few weeks, but there was also a part where the players panicked because the results didn't match their expectations I was very happy to be able to turn that around."
Lingard faced Ki Sung-yueng on the ground after the game. Ki Sung-yueng, who visited to watch the match against Pohang, came down to the ground after the game and said his final greetings to the fans. Lingard is "the hard part. He is a legend of the club. I know the meaning of Ki Sung-yueng in Seoul. However, there is no choice but to come a moment when I have to make a decision as a professional. It's not an easy part for me to say, but I think the moment has come to make a decision to do. When I first came, he helped me a lot to adapt well as a captain. I want to emphasize that Ki Sung-yueng will remain a legend in Seoul wherever he goes."
Then "It was a very emotional moment. Ki Sung-yueng also seems to have an emotion. He was very sad. I think it's a natural part. I also said that it is sad to go like this, that it is not an easy situation. Thank you for helping me well so far, and we talked about how we were able to adapt well thanks to you. He also said he would support and support wherever he was."
As for the fans' booing toward head coach Kim Ki-dong, "When we play at home, the fans' support is important. However, in a game like today, I talked to the coach before the game, but he said that if the fans don't support us, we should change the atmosphere. So I went in the first half and tried to hit a shot. Through this, we tried to change the atmosphere of the stadium ourselves", he explained.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
