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| ◇photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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Pohang Steelers stopped Jeonbuk Hyundai's 26 consecutive undefeated games (20 wins and 6 draws).
Pohang beat Jeonbuk 3-1 in the 27th round of the 2025 K League 1 at Pohang Steelyard on the 24th. Pohang, which has been on a three-game winning streak, reported victory to its home fans by scoring three goals in the first half alone against Jeonbuk, which has been undefeated in 26 consecutive games in the K League 1 games (17 wins and 5 draws) and 4 Korea Cups (3 wins and 1 draw) since March 16 (Pohang match, 2 wins and 2 draws). Giorgi played the top contributor to the victory with multiple shots, including a right foot goal in the 12th minute of the first half and a penalty kick goal in the 44th minute, and Park Seung-wook also helped. Jeonbuk balanced with Thiago's penalty goal in the 15th minute of the first half when it was trailing 0-1, but failed to chase after two more goals and ended its unbeaten streak. Pohang's season record was 13 wins, 5 draws and 9 losses, with 44 points, while Jeonbuk remained at 60 points (18 wins, 6 draws and 3 losses).
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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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Jeonbuk coach Gus Foyet, who ran the rotation in the first round of the Korea Cup semifinals against Gangwon FC on the 20th, returned to the best 11. Coach Foye, who set up Thiago at the front line and placed Song Min-gyu and Jeon Jin-woo on the left and right sides, set up the midfield with Kang Sang-yoon, Kim Jin-gyu, and Park Jin-seop, and Kim Tae-hyun, Hong Jung-ho, Kim Young-bin, Kim Tae-hwan in the back four positions, and Song Bum-keun in the goal. Pohang coach Park Tae-ha put Hong Yoon-sang, Kang Min-joon, and Kim Dong-jin of Auberdan in the second line, with Lee Ho-jae missing due to punishment by the reward and punishment committee. Shin Kwang-hoon, Jeon Min-gwang, Park Seung-wook, and Eo Jung-won stood on the defense line, and Hwang In-jae defended the goal. Ki Sung-yueng, who recovered from a rib microfracture injury, was on the bench.
The first half that started with a shout. In 12 seconds, it was colored with jubilation. Jorge hit the ball that Eo Jung-won pushed from the left side once and attempted a surprise right-footed shot from the left side of the arc. Jeonbuk Song Bum-keun reached out, but the shot was stuck in the left corner of the goal. Pohang's 1-0 lead.
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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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Jeonbuk, which gave up the first goal in an instant, reorganized the line and succeeded in tying the game. In the 11th minute of the first half, Kim Tae-hyun, who was hitting to the left in the penalty area, tripped over by Auberdan's tackle. Referee Park Byung-jin declared it was a normal play, but after VAR, he declared a penalty, pointing out Oberdan's foul. In the 15th minute of the first half, Thiago, who played as a kicker, made a right-footed shot, and the game went back to 1-1 origin.
The match, which seemed to be in a lull, fluctuated again with Pohang's additional goal. In the 24th minute of the first half, Juninho attempted a cross that bent low with his right foot in a free kick chance from the right side, and the ball was caught by Park Seung-wook, who was rushing through between the defender and the goalkeeper. Pohang led 2-1 again as Park Seung-wook opened the net with a right-footed shot after trapping.
Jeonbuk committed a foul in the 29th minute of the first half when Thiago, who was warned for a dangerous tackle, ran toward the fastball that resumed the game and pushed Jeon Min-kwang's face. The Pohang team strongly protested, but referee Park continued the game without a card.
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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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In the 39th minute of the first half, Pohang tried to push in a pass that Giorgi had connected from the left side of the gate, but failed to score another point as Song Bum-keun blocked it from the goal line. Afterwards, referee Park stopped the game once again and went to VAR, and declared a penalty, pointing out Kim Tae-hyun's foul that was blocking Juninho. Pohang widened the gap to 3-1 when Giorgi, a kicker, scored a right-footed goal in the 44th minute of the first half.
At the beginning of the second half, coach Foye tried to change by excluding Hong Jeong-ho and putting in Gamboa. Defensive midfielder Park Jin-seop went down to center back, and Gamboa was in the midfield. Jeonbuk took the lead early in the second half and continued to tap the Pohang goal, but failed to create a decisive scene. Rather, the crisis continued in the 15th minute of the second half, giving Hong Yoon-sang, who received Eo Jung-won's forward pass, a chance from the left side of the gate.
Pohang started to solidify by sending out Lee Dong-hee and Ki Sung-yueng without Shin Kwang-hoon and Kim Dong-jin in the 16th minute of the second half. In Jeonbuk, Lee Seung-woo and Kwon Chang-hoon were put in place of Song Min-gyu and Kim Jin-gyu. In the 29th minute of the second half, Jeon Jin-woo was out and Compagno came out. Jeonbuk sought an additional goal opportunity with side utilization and set-pieces in Pohang's camp, but Pohang rather aimed for an additional goal with a counterattack. In the end, Pohang reported a two-goal victory to its home fans, stopping Jeonbuk's long unbeaten victory.
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| ◇photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
