I came to Seoul! Song Min-gyu's debut goal exploded in the opening match! Seoul wins 'Kyung In The B' 2-1 in 581 days... Lee Chung-yong's "Incheon Debut." [On-site review of Incheon]

*This content was translated by AI.

The winner of the "Gyeongin Derby" in 581 days was FC Seoul.

Seoul won 2-1 in the away match of the opening match of the "Hana Bank K League 1 2026" against Incheon United at 2 p.m. on the 28th at Incheon Football Stadium.

The home team Incheon activated a 4-4-2 formation. Park Seung-ho and Mugosa were on the front two-top, and Oh Soo-sung, Seo Jae-min, Iker and Gerson stood at the second line. Four Bags were composed by Lee Joo-yong, Juan Ibiza, Kim Gun-hee, and Kim Myung-soon. Kim Dong-heon wore goalkeeper gloves.

The away team Seoul also faced 4-4-2. Andersson and Klimala are on the two-top, and the midfield was composed of Babez and Son Jung-beom. Song Min-gyu and Cho Young-wook took charge of the left and right wings, respectively. Four backs were formed by Kim Jin-soo, Ross, Park Sung-hoon, and Choi Jun. Koo Sung-yoon defended the goal.

An unusual occurrence occurred in the first seven minutes when the referee was replaced. At the beginning of the game, referee Lee Dong-joon entered the bench as if he felt uncomfortable with his legs. The captain of both teams then ran to the manager to explain the situation and warmed up by turning the ball between the players. About four minutes later, Song Min-seok's waiting trial was changed to the referee, and referee Lee Dong-joon was on the waiting list.

With the situation not accurately understood, an official from the Korea Professional Football Federation said, "Referee Lee Dong-joon suffered a muscle-raising injury while playing along with Gervo," adding, "It is still difficult to check the exact condition of the injury."

Seoul threatened Incheon's goal first. Andersson and Babets shot consecutively in the 8th minute of the first half, but they were hit by a defender and were ineffective. Seoul, which pressed forward, then took the ball away from Incheon's goal, and Klimala shot in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper, but was blocked by goalkeeper Kim Dong-hun.

Incheon also tried to attack. In the 20th minute of the first half, Gervo hit a mid-range shot from outside the penalty box, but it was missed and there was no great power.

Seoul raised its defensive line high throughout the first half and strongly pressed forward. As a result, Incheon had difficulty developing attacks as the rear build-up did not work out well.

Incheon recorded its first effective shot in the 38th minute of the first half amid the trend of Seoul leading the attack a little more. Park Seung-ho hit a free kick directly from a long distance, but headed in front of goalkeeper Koo Sung-yoon.

Incheon drove in the extra time of the first half, but it did not lead to a score. Mugosa immediately wrapped the pass given by Gersault near the arc circle, but it went off the goal. Park Seung-ho then connected the cross by Oh Soo-sung with a header, but he crossed the post again.

The first half ended 0-0 without scoring in a tense atmosphere.

Seoul scored the first goal two minutes into the second half. The goalkeeper was Song Min-gyu, a transfer student. Babets stole the ball and poked a forward pass. The pass seemed long, but the ball hit defender Kim Gun-hee's foot and had a chance to shoot. Song Min-gyu shook the net with a calm shot over the goalkeeper who narrowed the angle. Song Min-gyu, who wore a Seoul uniform at Jeonbuk Hyundai this season, enjoyed scoring his debut goal from the opening game.

Incheon missed a crucial opportunity. In the 12th minute of the second half, Gervo gave Park Seung-ho a short pass after breaking through the 30m dribble to the opponent's arc circle, opening up a shot opportunity. However, Park Seung-ho's shot wrapped around the other side of the net was slightly off.

Seoul widened the gap by scoring an additional goal with Cho Young-wook's fantastic goal. In the 16th minute of the second half, Cho Young-wook trapped Andersson's pass with his chest and immediately connected with a shot to break the net.

Two minutes later, Incheon made a change by putting in two veterans. Lee Chung-yong and Lee Myung-joo entered at the same time, and Lee Chung-yong made his Incheon debut. Lee Chung-yong diligently moved in the position of a sagging striker and sought his opportunity.

There was a rare scene in which a ball kicked by a Seoul goalkeeper hit the back of an Incheon striker and entered the goal. In the 28th minute of the second half, goalkeeper Koo Sung-yoon took a corner and kicked the ball far away. After being hit by Mugosa's back, the ball entered the goal and shook the net. However, the referee judged that Mugosa intentionally blocked and interfered with the goalkeeper's kick, so it was not recognized as a score.

In the 34th minute of the second half, Seoul had a variable in which Babets was sent off due to accumulated warnings. Incheon, which had a numerical advantage, increased its attack intensity, but rarely opened Seoul's goal.

In the extra time of the second half, Incheon followed one goal with Mugosa's penalty, heating up the atmosphere. Incheon continued to drive for 10 minutes of extra time, but the equalizer did not break out in the end. The match ended with Seoul's 2-1 victory.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.