Ulsan crash to bottom of Champions League table with fourth loss

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Ulsan crash to bottom of Champions League table with fourth loss

Published: 06 Nov. 2024, 13:23 Updated: 06 Nov. 2024, 17:34

PAIK JI-HWAN
paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr

Johor Darul Ta’zim's Arif Aiman Hanapi, right, vies for the ball during the 2024-25 AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) match against Ulsan HD at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Malaysia in a photo shared on the ACLE's official X account on Tuesday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

K League 1 champions Ulsan HD suffered a 3-0 loss to Johor Darul Ta’zim in the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) on Tuesday, recording their fourth straight loss in the tournament to hit the bottom of the league stage table.

Ulsan were in action at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Malaysia on the back of locking in the 2024 K League 1 title last week, but the domestic success proved meaningless against Johor.

Ulsan did not look like the dominant team, displaying vulnerabilities in defense. Inaccurate passes in defense cost the team the opening goal from Arif Aiman, who snatched the ball from clumsy defenders and slotted it in from a tight angle in the eighth minute.

The K League champions failed to tie things up through the end of the first half and continued to struggle in the second half. Some solid late efforts were either off target or hit the goalpost.

Oscar Arribas stretched Johor’s lead in the 67th minute when his shot took a big deflection into the back of the net.

Bergson, who was left unmarked in Ulsan territory, then calmly took a shot in the 88th minute to seal the 3-0 win.

Tuesday’s loss marked Ulsan’s fourth consecutive defeat in the ACLE this season, where they have yet to score even a single goal.

Unsurprisingly, Ulsan have been the worst performing of the three K League teams in the ACLE. They sit at the bottom of the 12-team league stage table as of press time Wednesday.

Gwangju FC, meanwhile, sit in second place and Pohang Steelers are 10th.

The K League champions need to secure at least an eighth-place finish in the league stage in order to book a ticket to the round of 16.

The club has four more league stage matches to bounce back, with their next match scheduled against Shanghai Port on Nov. 26.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]