After leading the K League One this season, FC Seoul slipped to seventh place in the final match of the regular season, but the club hoped to restore its honor by winning its first match of the final round. Veteran midfielder Ki Sung-yueng, 34, said that despite the disappointment of a season that seems to be over, he has no choice but to do his best for the fans.

Seoul won 2-1 at home against Gangwon FC in the 34th round of the Hana WonQ K League 1 2023 at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 2 p.m. on Feb. 22. After taking the lead through Na Sang-ho in the seventh minute of the second half, Seoul conceded an equalizer through Gabriel in the 31st minute, but Ji Dong-won scored the winner three minutes later to secure a thrilling victory.

Ki Sung-yueng started as usual and anchored Seoul’s midfield. In attack, he partnered with Palocevic to distribute the ball, and in defense, he dropped back to support center backs Osmar and Kim Joo-sung.

“I’m glad we won,” Ki Sung-yueng said after the game. “I think the players prepared well for two weeks,” he said of starting the final round under difficult circumstances. Personally, I was disappointed. We had five matches left, including this one, and I was very disappointed,” he said. “I was worried about what to do, but as a professional athlete, it’s my job to do my best in front of the crowd. Personally, I was very disappointed.”

At the game, fans held up signs criticizing the team and urging them to improve. Ki Sung-yueng was disappointed but understood the fans’ feelings. “How disappointed must they be? We are disappointed, but they must be more disappointed. This season, we believed that we could go to the Final A, but in the last two games, we were not good enough. I’m just sorry, I’m really hurting and I’m still not recovering well,” he said, hanging his head. “But seeing the fans today, I feel like we have to do our best in front of them. The bus has already left and it’s a shame that the season ended like this.” 토토사이트

With the team already confirmed to stay in the competition, even if they win all of their remaining games, they will not be able to move above seventh place, so there is a lack of motivation and a sense of purpose. Before the game, acting head coach Kim Jin-gyu emphasized the responsibility of being a professional player. Ki Sung-yueng had similar thoughts. “We talked a lot during the season, but I don’t know how to motivate them now, and it’s not enough to talk,” he said.

“I think today’s game was more like, ‘I want you to think about your value as a professional player. Some of us will leave this team after this season, and we may not have time to play together in the future, so let’s work hard for our values,'” he said. “I don’t know if that motivated us or not, but I think we worked hard.