FC Seoul's Kim Ki-dong, whose five-game winning streak was snapped, said, "We must overcome this pressure to qualify for the championship."

FC Seoul's Kim Ki-dong, whose five-game winning streak was snapped, said, "We must overcome this pressure to qualify for the championship."

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"The players must overcome this pressure to be given the right to win."

FC Seoul manager Kim Ki-dong of the professional soccer K League 1 team could not hide his disappointment at failing to continue their winning streak at an important juncture on the road to a championship.

Seoul drew 0-0 with Jeonbuk Hyundai in an away match of the 29th round of the Hana Bank K League 1 2024 held at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the 1st.

Seoul, which was slow at the beginning of the season, has come alive in the summer.

From goalkeeper Kang Hyun-moo, fullback Choi Jun, midfielder Lee Seung-mo, second-string Jesse Lingard, and up front Iljutcenko, most of the players in the front line are doing more than their part.

Seoul had won five games in a row up until the previous round.

There was speculation that Seoul, with its steep rise, could even aim for the presidency.

If they had defeated Jeonbuk, they could have narrowed the gap with the championship contenders Gangwon FC (1st) and Ulsan Hyundai (2nd, both with 51 points) to 4 points.

Coach Kim, who came into the press conference after the game, was smiling as usual. However, his words were sharp.

He emphasized, "Reporters talk about the possibility of winning, but a team that can challenge for the championship must have players who can overcome all this pressure. Only when they can overcome it and play well will they be given the right to win."

He continued, "I wasn't able to play even 50% of the soccer I've been 추천 playing so far in the first half today. I think I'm still lacking. I'll reorganize the team during the A-match break and improve on the problems that arose this time."

Coach Kim said in a meeting with reporters before the game, "If we can suppress Jeonbuk's early momentum, the momentum will shift to Seoul."

Jeonbuk actually overwhelmed Seoul in terms of activity early on. They controlled the flow of the game with aggressive pressure.

The game went as Coach Kim had expected. However, Seoul's proper counterattack came in the second half. It took too long to regain balance.

Coach Kim said, "I think it was the game where my voice was the loudest in the locker room during halftime," and added, "I was upset and disappointed that we couldn't play our game in the first half," and "It's surprising that we didn't play our soccer. We will think about why that was and what the players were thinking through the meeting."

Meanwhile, Jeonbuk's draw on this day confirmed their relegation to Final B for the first time ever.

Although it is a harsh situation, Jeonbuk has been 'mentally prepared' to some extent, so the result is not that shocking at this point.

Jeonbuk, which had its manager replaced amidst an endless slump in the first half of the season, has already set its realistic goal for this season as 'remaining in K League 1' rather than 'entering the Final A' since the middle of the season.

However, this may be a difficult reality to accept for fans who love Jeonbuk.

Jeonbuk manager Kim Du-hyeon apologized, saying, "You come to the stadium every game to feel proud, and I'm sorry that I couldn't fulfill that."

He continued, "We are preparing for each game with as much difficulty as possible. Please cheer us on and support us. Please cheer for our players so they can work even harder."

Coach Kim also pledged to escape relegation, saying, "We must not go to a situation (like the promotion/relegation playoffs). From now on, we will just watch the next game and move on. If we consistently pursue what we want to do, the results will follow."