'Sudden winning goal' Veteran center-back Kwon Kyung-won selected as Round 17 MVP... '3 goals in two consecutive games' Pohang in Best Team [Official Announcement]

*This content was translated by AI.

FC Anyang veteran defender Kwon Kyung-won (34) was named the Hana Bank K League 1 2026 Round 17 Player of the Match. In K League 2, Suwon FC's Freejo (28), who put on a one-man show with two goals and an assist, claimed the MVP title.

The Korea Professional Football League announced the MVPs, Best Matches, and Best Teams for Rounds 17 of both K League 1 and K League 2 via a press release on the 14th.

The Round 17 MVP of K League 1 went to Anyang's Kwon Kyung-won. On the 12th, in an away match against Incheon United at Incheon Football Stadium, Kwon scored a priceless winning goal that led his team to a 1-0 victory.

Starting as a central defender that day, Kwon connected with a long cross from Mateus in a set-piece situation in the fourth minute of the first half and struck it with his left foot to shake Incheon's net. This goal became Kwon's first of the season and secured a precious three points for Anyang as the winning goal.

Thanks to Kwon Kyung-won's performance, the match between Anyang and Incheon, which Anyang won, was selected as the Round 17 Best Match. After Kwon scored an early lead, Anyang built a solid defensive wall and held off Incheon's attacks until the end. Incheon swallowed their regrets, including Juan Ibieta heading against the post, while Anyang responded with Mateus' sharp long-range shots, engaging in a fierce battle. Especially, Anyang's goalkeeper Kim Jeong-hun recorded no fewer than eight saves that day, contributing to the team's 1-0 victory and completing his third scoreless match of the season.

The honor of the Round 17 Best Team went to Pohang Steelers. On the 11th, Pohang secured a 3-0 away victory against Gwangju FC at Gwangju World Cup Stadium. After taking the lead in the 21st minute of the first half with a goal from Kento Nishiyama, Pohang sealed the win with consecutive goals from Tranjiska in the fifth minute and Jeong Han-min in the 28th minute of the second half, completely defeating Gwangju. With this, Pohang showcased their sharp firepower with three goals in two consecutive matches, and both Nishiyama and Jeong Han-min scored their debut goals after joining Pohang.

The Round 17 MVP of K League 2 was claimed by Suwon FC's Freejo. On the 10th, in a home match against Jeonnam at Suwon Sports Complex, Freejo led his team to a 5-0 victory with two goals and an assist. After assisting Mateus Baby's opening goal in the 40th minute of the first half to set the tone, Freejo scored again in the sixth and 14th minutes of the second half to seal the win. With this performance, Freejo recorded nine goals and five assists for the season, taking sole lead in both the scoring and attacking points categories in K League 2.

With Freejo's outstanding performance leading to a complete victory over Jeonnam, Suwon FC was also selected for the Round 17 Best Team of K League 2. Led by Freejo's multi-goal performance along with relay goals from Kim Jung-hwan, Mateus, and Ha Jung-woo, Suwon FC completed their first five-goal match of the season and continued their unbeaten run in the last four matches (two wins, two draws).

The Round 17 Best Match of K League 2 was the game between Daegu FC and Seongnam FC held at Daegu Bank PARK on the 11th. Seongnam took an early lead with a goal from Benicio in the 18th minute of the first half, but Daegu quickly equalized with a penalty kick by Kim Ju-gong in the 25th minute. In the fourth minute of the second half, Seongnam's Lee Jeong-bin scored to take the lead again, but Daegu completed a dramatic comeback victory with a 3-2 scoreline after Ryu Jae-man's equalizer in the 12th minute and Dan Lei's dramatic winning goal in the 45th minute. With this thrilling victory, Daegu maintained their steep upward trend of eight consecutive unbeaten matches (six wins, two draws).

The K League Round Best 11 and MVP are fairly selected based on quantitative and qualitative evaluations by the Technical Research Group (TSG) under the Korea Professional Football League's Technical Committee. TSG members assigned to each match first select the Best 11 and Match of the Match (MOM), then make the final decision through a match evaluation meeting,ing committee scores, opinions, and official supplementary data from vendor VPRO. The Round MVP is selected from the MOMs of each match through the same review process.

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*This content was translated by AI.