The competition for the top score is on fire. In the 26th round of the 'Hana Bank K League 1 2025' held this weekend, all 'Big 5' except Joo Min-kyu (Daejeon Hana Citizen) scored a goal.
'National Striker' Lee Ho-jae (Pohang) opened the door. Lee Ho-jae scored in the 5th minute of the first half against FC Anyang at Anyang Stadium on the 15th. Giorgi flooded a low cross from the left, finishing with a right non-stop shot. It was Lee Ho-jae's 11th goal of the season. Lee Ho-jae, who already scored more than nine goals last season and recorded a career high, entered the race for the top scorer with this goal. Pohang won 1-0 with Lee Ho-jae's winning goal. Lee Ho-jae has scored three goals in his last five games.
Jeon Jin-woo (Jeonbuk), who allowed Lee Ho-jae to chase, reacted. Jeon Jin-woo scored a net goal in the 37th minute of the second half against Daegu FC at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the 16th. He received Lee Young-jae's through pass and finished calmly. Jeon Jin-woo maintained his lone lead in scoring with 13 goals. It was the first goal in seven games. Jeon Jin-woo, who received a love call from European teams, chose to stay in consideration of Jeonbuk's situation, which dreams of winning its first championship in four years. The slump came due to greater stress than expected. `I tried not to score a goal, but a goal was scored.' Miso Ji-eun Jeon Jin-woo finally regained his mind and opened the scoring again.
Before Jeon Jin-woo, Compagno (Jeonbuk) performed a one-man show. Compagno, who received Kim Jin-kyu's cross in the 26th minute of the first half and scored the first and final goal with a long-term header, completed a multi-goal by connecting Park Jin-seop's head-dropped ball with a calm bicycle kick in the 9th minute of the second half. Compagno chased Jeon Jin-woo with his 11th goal. Compagno has scored five goals in his last six games. Compagno, one of the best foreign strikers this season, has been steadily improving even in the heat. Jeonbuk, with consecutive goals from Compagno and Jeon Jin-woo at the forefront, defeated Daegu 3-0 and scored an unbeaten 22 games.
On the same day, Suwon FC's striker Saakib shook the top scorer structure. Sabak scored multiple goals in a match against Ulsan HD at Suwon Stadium on the 16th. Szabak scored the first goal after a penetrating pass from Willian in the first minute of the game. In the 29th minute of the second half, Ahn Hyun-bum's shot hit goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo and pushed sensibly to complete the winning goal. Sabak scored multiple goals on the 2nd and scored multiple goals in two consecutive games against Ulsan until this day, resulting in a new nickname 'Tiger Hunter'. Sabak, who had only five goals in the previous 18 games, jumped to second place in scoring with 12 goals at once, with a tremendous rise of seven goals in the last five games.
Amid the rivals' scoring march, Joo Min-kyu started an away game against Gwangju FC on the 17th and played full time, but failed to score. In the last match against Suwon FC, he failed to continue his upward trend, which had been scoreless for two months. With only one shot, he scored 11 goals.
Jeon Jin-woo, Sabak, Compagno, Lee Ho-jae, and Joo Min-kyu are expected to solidify their top ranks, and their competition for the top scorer is expected to be even fiercer. The fight, which had been dominated by domestic factions, became even hotter with the joining of foreigners. As seen in Sabak's case, goaltenders tend to rush once they get the hang of it. In other words, the trend can change again starting from the 26th round.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
