FC Seoul closes in on fifth K-League title

FC Seoul is one victory away from winning the K-League after a 3-0 rout of Gyeongnam FC on Sunday. The league leaders could seal their fifth league title against Jeju United tomorrow.

Seoul, the 2010 champion, has 87 points, 10 ahead of defending champion Jeonbuk Motors, which lost, 3-2, to the Pohang Steelers on Saturday. There are four games remaining.

The runner-up Motors will play Ulsan Hyundai tomorrow and a Jeonbuk loss would hand the title to FC Seoul regardless of the outcome of its match against Jeju. Seoul has not lost to Jeju this year.

Montenegrin striker Dejan Damjanovic will aim for his fifth goal of the season against Jeju; he scored two against Gyeongnam on Sunday, giving him 30 for the season. That breaks the previous record of 28, set by Kim Do-hoon in 2003.

Mauricio Uribe, a Colombian midfielder who goes by his middle name Molina, is also strong against Jeju, with a goal and three assists on the year. Uribe added to his league assist record on Sunday with his 18th on Damjanovic’s first goal.

Ulsan Hyundai, winner of the 2012 Asian Football Confederation Champions League, is unlikely to defend its Asian title, as it stayed nine points behind the fourth-place Suwon Bluewings with a scoreless draw against Suwon on Sunday.

The third-place Steelers will go to the 2013 ACL as winner of the FA Cup. Three other berths go to the three best K-League clubs.

By Moon Gwang-lip