Ulsan Hyundai is trying to turn the atmosphere around by inviting Johor Bahru (Malaysia) into the tiger’s den.
Ulsan will face Johor Bahru in the third match of Group I of the 2023/2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (hereinafter ACL) at Munsu Football Stadium at 7 p.m. on the 24th.
Currently, Ulsan has the same 1 win, 1 loss and 3 points +1 as Johor Bahru, but is in 3rd place, one goal behind in terms of goals (Ulsan 3 goals, Johor Bahru 4 goals).
Ulsan won 3-1 at home against BG Pathum United (Thailand) on the 19th of last month thanks to Martin Adam’s hat-trick, but unfortunately lost 0-1 in an away game to Kawasaki Frontale (Japan) on the 3rd of this month, conceding a goal just before the end. lost.
Starting with this match against Johor Bahru, the team must achieve good results in the remaining group stages to advance to the round of 16.굿모닝토토
Ulsan lost 0-1 in the first game of the K League 1 Final A against Gwangju FC on the 21st, conceding a goal in the last minute of the second half. However, both performance and confidence improved compared to before the international break. As K-League 1 and ACL are different stages, the intention is to win with different power and player composition.
There is a debt to pay. Ulsan was placed in a group with Johor Bahru in the ACL last season, but lost both games 1-2. As a result, they stayed in 3rd place in their group and missed out on a ticket to the round of 16.
Johor Bahru is currently ranked unrivaled in first place in the Malaysian Super League. Berson, a Brazilian nationality player who previously played for Suwon Samsung and Busan I’Park in the K League, is in charge of the front line. Last season, he hit the net in the second game of the group stage against Ulsan. He scored 16 goals in 18 league games this season.
Another player to watch out for is Italian striker Fernando Forestieri. A former Italian age-group representative, he played for Watford and Sheffield Wednesday in the English Premier League. He competed with Park Joo-young, the current Ulsan playing coach, for the starting position during his time at Watford. This season, he ranks second in overall scoring with 18 goals in 17 league games. Ulsan’s solid defense is needed more than ever. The goal is to continue the momentum until the match against Daegu FC (2 p.m. on the 29th), which will be a turning point in winning the K League 1 through a turnaround on the Asian stage.