SEOUL, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors edged out FC Seoul 1-0 on Wednesday in their latest K League 1 match, keeping the pressure on leaders Ulsan Hyundai FC just past the halfway mark of the season.
Gustavo's 53rd-minute goal stood as the winner for Jeonbuk at Seoul World Cup Stadium on a muggy night, as Jeonbuk improved to 38 points in second place.
They remained five points back of Ulsan, which defeated Gangwon FC 2-1 on Tuesday.
Ulsan once led the league by 11 points but Jeonbuk, five-time defending champions, have been pushing their way up the tables in recent weeks.
Jeonbuk are now undefeated in their past five matches and have not lost to FC Seoul since July 2, 2017, posting 13 wins and three draws since then.
The teams traded a couple of chances midway through the first half. Cho Young-wook struck the woodwork in the 24th minute for FC Seoul, while Song Min-kyu's goal for Jeonbuk three minutes later was called off following an offside ruling.
Gustavo broke the deadlock eight minutes into the second half, taking a pass from Song to score in his second consecutive match.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, 10-man Suwon Samsung Bluewings held Daegu FC to a 1-1 draw at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, 35 kilometers south of Seoul.
Suwon remained winless in seven matches, with four draws and three losses. They are stuck in 11th place, second from the bottom, with 20 points.
Daegu extended their undefeated run to 11 matches but blew an opportunity to notch their first away victory of 2022.
Jo Jin-woo had Daegu's goal in the 29th minute, two minutes after Jeong Ho-jin was sent off on his second yellow card of the match. But Oh Hyeon-gyu tied things up for Suwon in the 67th minute.
An Byong-jun, a Japan-born forward of North Korean descent who'd signed with Suwon earlier Wednesday, made his debut with the new club as a second-half substitute. An is the two-time reigning MVP and scoring champion in the second-tier K League 2, and Suwon will count on him to boost their anemic offense.
Suwon are tied for the fewest goals scored in the K League 1 this year with 14 after 20 matches.
Also Wednesday, Suwon FC blanked Incheon United 1-0, thanks to an injury-time goal by Urho Nissila.
Incheon have been held scoreless in their first two matches played without their leading scorer Stefan Mugosa, who left for the Japanese club Vissel Kobe last week.
Source: Yonhap News Agency