Lee Seung-woo misses penalty! Second, third, and fourth places stand still; Jeonbuk, Ulsan, and Gangwon all draw... top-ranked Seoul smiles

*This content was translated by AI.

Top-tier teams chasing K League 1 leader FC Seoul failed to secure victories one after another. Second-place Gangwon FC, third-place Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, and fourth-place Ulsan HD all failed to earn three points, allowing Seoul to maintain its solo lead.

Second-place Gangwon (32 points) recorded a 1-1 draw against Jeju SK in an away match at the Jeju World Cup Stadium on the 21st during Round 19 of 'Hana Bank K League 1 2026'. They conceded the opening goal to Kim Shin-jin of Jeju in the 20th minute of the first half, but Go Young-jun scored his debut goal after joining Gangwon six minutes later, leveling the match. Although Abu Dallah scored a header to take the lead in the 39th minute of the second half, the goal was disallowed after video assistant referee (VAR) review, leaving them with only eight consecutive matches without defeat (five wins and four draws).

Third-place Jeonbuk (30 points) drew 0-0 against Daejeon Hana Citizen at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the same day, failing to break through their opponent's compact defense. Lee Seung-woo stepped up as the penalty kick taker after earning a spot-kick in the final moments of the first half, but his shot missed the target. Despite deploying an all-out attack by bringing in 2008-born rookie Kim Ye-geon in the second half, they were unable to open Daejeon's goal.

Fourth-place Ulsan (28 points) suffered a 1-2 defeat against Incheon United at the Ulsan Munsu Stadium, falling into a slump with five consecutive matches without a win (two draws and three losses). Incheon's Periera scored the opening goal in the 39th minute of the first half. Two minutes later, Ulsan's Lee Dong-gyeong immediately equalized, keeping the match tightly contested. However, in stoppage time of the second half, substitute player Mugoza of Incheon drew a penalty kick and converted it himself to seal the victory.

Taking advantage of the poor form of competing teams, top-ranked Seoul (39 points) will face Pohang Steelers at home on the 22nd. A win in this match could further widen the gap with the second-place contenders.

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*This content was translated by AI.