Kim Ki-dong, who reached the "milestone of 20 wins for the first time in 10 years," has his sights set beyond the "21 wins of 2016": "It would be even better if we secure 22 wins" [On-site at Sangam]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Kim Ki-dong (55), the FC Seoul manager who reached the milestone of 20 wins, pledged to pursue more victories and a championship title.

Seoul defeated Jeju SK 2-1 in their home match against Jeju SK in Round 31 of the Hana Bank K League 1 2026 season, held at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 2 p.m. on the 10th.

Seoul, who recorded their first win after an approximately three-week international break, is leading the league with 65 points (20 wins, 5 draws, 6 losses). Seoul will clinch its first league title in 10 years if it adds just 7 more points from the remaining 7 matches. On the other hand, Jeju, whose five-match unbeaten streak (3 wins, 2 draws) came to an end, sits in fourth place with 46 points (12 wins, 10 draws, 9 losses).

Despite the injury and subsequent departure of central midfielder Lee Seung-mo during the first half, Seoul secured a victory thanks to Moon Sun-min's opening goal in the first minute of the second half and Kim Min-jae's winning goal in the 34th minute of the second half. Kim Min-jae, who scored the decisive goal, moved into sole possession of the league's top scorer position with his 14th goal of the season.

After the match, Manager Kim Ki-dong shared his thoughts through a press conference, stating, "We overcame the threat of consecutive losses and won, so I would like to congratulate the players."

He added, "The gap with teams in second place has narrowed, which may have caused psychological instability among the players, but we overcame it well," and commented, "Not rushing against the opponent's defense and adjusting our pace was the key to the win."

Regarding achieving 20 wins for the first time in 10 years, he expressed that it is still insufficient. Manager Kim Ki-dong said calmly, "It does not carry much significance at this point because we have not reached the 21st wins recorded during our championship season in 2016," adding, "It would be even better if we secure 21 or 22 wins."

Regarding the opposing team Jeju, he praised them as a "solid team that has proven why they have risen to their current position," noting, "Their defense is tight and their counterattacks are fast."

He expressed concern about the injury to key midfielder Lee Seung-mo, who was substituted out in the first half. Manager Kim Ki-dong stated, "Hospital examination results showed an injury to the medial side of his knee, and a long-term absence is expected," swallowing his disappointment.

On the other hand, regarding striker Cho Young-wook, who has been sidelined, he revealed, "He has recovered from his injury and joined team training. We will assess his condition in practice matches before deploying him in an actual game."

Regarding the away trip to Australia for the AFC Champions League (match against Central Coast) that coincides with the league schedule, he hinted at rotation. Manager Kim Ki-dong said, "The round-trip takes 18 hours, and since the league championship has not yet been decided, it would be too much of a strain to bring all our key players," adding, "Since we have a home match against Gimcheon immediately after the away trip, we will approach this cautiously to prevent additional injuries."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original