Just A Few Things - FC Seoul Vs. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Credit: K League
The Legend Continues
He was in the spotlight when the world was watching the K League opener and here he is again; 41-year old Lee Dong-gook scored a brace to score his 226th & 227th goals of his career. The striker came in to replace Lars Veldwijk among other sweeping changes made from last week’s defeat to Gangwon as eyebrows were raised. In the end, the decision to do so ultimately paid off.
Lee Dong-gook was able exploit the space given to him by an unsually Seoul defence as he scored the two goals for a comprehensive 4-1 win at hapless FC Seoul. Dong-gook could’ve got his hat-trick had he not head the ball towards the post from an astonishingly close range. Thankfully, Han Kyo-won was on hand to score the match opener. Dong-gook once again has shown he can be relied upon as he gave manager Jose Morais more to think about who to put up top for the coming matches.
Instant Impact
There were chances few in between for either of these sides as the match approached half-time. Not making any headway, Jeonbuk rolled their dice first as Murilo came on for the returning Cho Kyu-sung (More on this later). The substitute had the intended effect as it was his cross to Dong-gook that lead to Jeonbuk scoring the opener.
But FC Seoul made an impact substitution of their own shortly after they conceded the goal. A cross comes in for Park Chu-young and the striker took a touch before his shot crashed under the bar and just crossed the line, which needed a long VAR check for the goal to be given. It gave Seoul hope, but it turned out to sadly be a false dawn.
Flan-kings
Early on in the game, Jeonbuk were looking to go down the wings to penetrate the Seoul box. But they had no such luck, especially when the returning Cho Kyu-sung would often hit roadblocks down on the left side in the form of centre-back Kim Nam-chun & right wing-back Ko Kwang-min. This is likely the reason why Murilo was bought on and the move immediately yielded dividends. Murilo’s drive gave the right side of Seoul’s defence a lot more trouble as his movement was unpredictable for the defence to keep up.
Meanwhile on the right side, Han Kyo-won put up an excellent performance as his ability to hug the line gave Seoul left wing-back Kim Jin-ya and a somewhat narrow Seoul defence all sorts of problems. Kyo-won’s performance saw him scoring one and assisting two, both of them for Lee Dong-gook as his tenacity & positioning to keep the attack going were some of the factors in Jeonbuk’s deserving win here.
The Ki To Midfield
Another perhaps underrated hero of the day goes to Jeonbuk midfielder Lee Seung-ki who provided the spark in midfield that lead to Jeonbuk constantly taking control, especially in the middle of the park. He answered the call for a Jeonbuk goal when after he got out of a tight situation, he launched a left-footed fiery rocket shot out of nowhere into the top corner that left Seoul keeper, Yu Sang-hun no chance.
Incidentally, when the second half started during Jeonbuk’s match against Gangwon last week, Jeonbuk introduced Seung-ki as a half-time and it lead Jeonbuk taking back control of the midfield as it was able to drive forward despite playing a man down. Perhaps Seung-ki’s influence in the midfield is something to take note of.
The Motors Drive Through A Lacking Seoul
Make no mistake, Jeonbuk fully deserve this victory. This was by far their best performance to date as they took apart their opponents following their astounding defeat at Gangwon last week. They were bossing possession, they kept going through the Seoul final third where they could’ve scored one or two more and a composed defence to deal whatever Seoul has to offer despite the absence of the suspended Hong Jeong-ho. This performance is how a team billed as defending champions should be showing towards someone who is struggling at the moment.
But more questions have to be asked of FC Seoul. A lack of inspiration in the attack and an out-of-focus defence spelled doom for the home side here. However, it’s the attack that is the main concern for Seoul. This match would’ve gone differently had Cho Young-wook not spurned a diamond-encrusted chance when the score was still 0-0.
Questions were asked on why both Go Yo-han & Park Chu-young started from the bench when Adriano, who actually looked the brightest of all Seoul players, is apparently still dealing with some fitness issues. Aleksandar Pesic is still out amidst questions of him going back to his parent club Al-Ittihad and converted striker Park Dong-jin is doing his military service, so where are the goals going to come from? Who will be the spark needed to drive Seoul forward and in midfield where they were also beaten in terms of influence? Luckily for Seoul, the summer transfer window is coming soon and they need someone reliable to provide that spark fast.