FC Seoul extends K League lead with 1-0 win while second-place Ulsan loses ground with draw
Jeong Seung-won’s late goal against Incheon gave his team its third straight victory, with Ulsan now eight points behind after a 1-1 draw with Gwangju.
FC Seoul's Patryk Klimala, center, celebrates with Moon Seon-min, left and Jeong Seung-won after Jeong's goal against Gwangju FC at Seoul World Cup Stadium on March 22.NEWS1
FC Seoul extended its lead atop K League 1 with a victory in its first match after the World Cup break.
FC Seoul defeated Incheon United FC 1-0 at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Sunday, thanks to Jeong Seung-won's decisive goal.
The victory was Seoul's third straight, lifting the club to 35 points and giving it an eight-point lead over second-place Ulsan HD FC, which has 27.
Jeong scored the winner in the 80th minute. After receiving a pass from Son Jeong-beom, he cut inside from the right side of the penalty area and curled a left-footed shot into the lower left corner.
It was Jeong's first goal of the season, which he celebrated by taking off his jersey to show the name on the back of his jersey to the television cameras.
Incheon remained sixth in the league with 21 points.
In other action, Gwangju FC held Ulsan to a 1-1 draw in a game at the Gwangju World Cup Stadium the same day.
Ulsan took the lead in the 54th minute through striker Yago Cariello, but Moon Min-seo equalized for Gwangju 10 minutes later.
Ulsan HD FC goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo, in yellow, blocks the ball during a match against Bucheon FC 1995 at Bucheon Sports Complex on March 15.NEWS1
Bottom-placed Gwangju remained in 12th with eight points. While Ulsan welcomed back its players from the FIFA World Cup 2026 — goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo and midfielder Lee Dong-gyeong — the team had to settle for a point and failed to narrow its gap with league-leading Seoul.
Gimcheon Sangmu FC and Jeju SK FC also played to a 1-1 draw at Gimcheon Sports Complex the same day.
Gimcheon extended its winless run to five matches, with two draws and three losses, but remained 11th in the league with 15 points. Jeju, winless in its last three matches with one draw and two losses, stayed eighth with 19 points.
The match took a dramatic turn in the 32nd minute of the first half when Jeju forward Emerson Negueba and Gimcheon defender Byeon Jun-soo were both sent off.
Negueba received a straight red card for violent conduct after striking Byeon in the face with an arm while trying to break free during a challenge as Jeju built an attack from its own half. Byeon, who had already received a yellow card, was given a second yellow card after pulling Negueba from behind.
The game's deadlock was broken in the 70th minute when Gimcheon's Park Cheol-woo scored the opening goal. Jeju responded just three minutes later as Tobias Figueiredo scored an equalizer, his first K League goal.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
