Professional soccer’s K League 1 FC Seoul exploded for five goals without English Premier League (EPL) star Jesse Lingard. At the center of it all was the resurgence of Ilyuchenko (GER).
Ilyuchenko scored two goals and provided two assists in the first half alone to lead Seoul to a 5-1 victory in their Hana Bank K League 1 2024 Round 5 home match against Gimcheon Commerce at Seoul World Cup Stadium on March 3.
Ilyuchenko, who started as a frontline striker, assisted on Cho Young-wook’s opening goal in the 15th minute before scoring the team’s second goal in the 33rd minute.
Five minutes later, 안전놀이터 he finished off a pass from Ki Sung-yong with a right-footed shot to complete his multi-goal performance.
He also assisted on a goal by Ki Sung-yueng in first-half stoppage time, giving him four offensive points on the day.
Ilyuchenko made his Korean debut in 2019 with the Pohang Steelers after playing in the German second division.
After playing only the second half of his first season with Pohang, he impressed with nine goals and two assists in the league and finished second in the league with 19 goals and five assists in 2020.
Ilyuchenko moved to Jeonbuk Hyundai in 2021 and has been playing for Seoul since the second half of 2022.
After being a consistent scorer for Pohang and Jeonbuk, Ilyuchenko didn’t have the same firepower in Seoul. After scoring seven goals in the second half of the 2022 season, he only managed five goals in 24 games in 2023.
This year has been different. In five games, he already has three goals (two assists) and is tied for fifth on the team’s scoring list.
A reunion with coach Kim Ki-dong, his mentor at Pohang, has changed his life.
Kim reportedly showed Ilyuchenko old videos to motivate him to revive his career.
In fact, Ilyuchenko didn’t just stay up front against Gimcheon, but moved around the back and left and right, recreating his old Pohang form.
Ilyuchenko’s resurgence is a welcome one for Seoul. Especially since it comes on the heels of Lingard’s lackluster performance.
Seoul’s “superstar” 메이저 토토사이트 Lingard played in the first three rounds of the K-League, but had no offensive points.
To make matters worse, he suffered a knee injury during the A-Match break and missed the fourth round away match against Gangwon FC (1-1 draw) and the fifth round against Gimcheon.
After the 2-0 win over Jeju United in the third round, Lingard was criticized for his attitude by Kim, who said he was playing sloppy.
Kim’s comments made headlines in England, and Lingard dismissed the rumors of discord, vowing to bounce back.
However, Kim’s struggles have been growing as he hasn’t settled into Seoul as well as the league’s highest paid player.
Meanwhile, Seoul, who moved up to fourth place in the league (8 points) thanks to Ilyuchenko’s performance, will host Daegu FC in the sixth round on June 7.