SEOUL– Ulsan Hyundai FC rallied past Suwon Samsung Bluewings on Sunday to extend their lead atop the South Korean football table.
Captain Lee Chung-yong grabbed a brace to lift Ulsan to a 3-1 victory in the K League 1 at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, 415 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
Kim Min-woo opened the scoring for Suwon by converting a penalty in the 14th minute, before Lee netted the equalizer in the 38th minute.
Ulsan kept pressing for a go-ahead marker, and Lee came through in the 82nd minute with a left-footed shot from a tough angle inside the box. Midfielder Lee Dong-jun added an insurance goal during injury time, when his shot from just outside the box went in off the body of Suwon defender Doneil Henry.
Ulsan improved to 48 points after 25 matches and now sit five points clear of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, which have played 23 matches.
Jeonbuk got held to a scoreless draw by lowly Seongnam FC on Saturday, which opened the door for Ulsan. And they took full advantage, erasing an early deficit with three unanswered goals.
Also on Sunday in the K League 1, Pohang secured a 2-2 draw versus FC Seoul and climbed to third place with 35 points.
Kang Sang-woo scored the tying goal for Pohang in the 78th minute at Seoul World Cup Stadium. Their goalkeeper Kang Hyeon-mu then denied Aleksandar Palocevic on an injury-time penalty to preserve the draw.
FC Seoul, with 25 points, are tied with the last-place Gwangju FC in points, but remain ahead in the goal difference tiebreaker. The worst K League 1 club at the season’s end will be automatically relegated to the lower-tier K League 2 for 2022.
Source: Yonhap News Agency