▲ Jeonbuk's Thiago celebrates scoring the opening goal against Gwangju.
K League 1 professional football club Jeonbuk Hyundai failed to secure a win for their third consecutive match after drawing with bottom-placed Gwangju FC.
Playing their Hana Bank K League 1 2026 Round 30 home match at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium on September 20, Jeonbuk tied 2-2 with Gwangju despite a multi-goal performance by Thiago, conceding an equalizing goal in stoppage time of the second half.
With this result, Jeonbuk recorded two draws and one loss in their last three matches, bringing their total points to 44. They surrendered the third-place spot to Jeju SK (46 points), which defeated Gangwon FC earlier in the day, and dropped to fourth place.
Meanwhile, last-placed Gwangju recorded 15 points.
Although they escaped the threat of a defeat, Gwangju extended their record for the most consecutive winless matches across K League 1 and 2 to 28 games (12 draws and 16 losses).
Jeonbuk took the lead in the 35th minute of the first half when Thiago trapped a cross sent by Kim Young-bin from the left side of the opposing midfield with his chest while battling a defender on the right side of the penalty area, and gently nudged it in with his right instep.
However, the match was brought back to level terms in the 44th minute of the first half due to an own goal by defender Kim Tae-hyun.
A ball sent into the left side of the penalty area by Gwangju's Ba 루아 hit the head of Kim Tae-hyun, who was competing with Lee Min-ki, and went into Jeonbuk's net.
Jeonbuk took the lead again in the 33rd minute of the second half from a corner kick opportunity, where Thiago skillfully redirected a header from Cho Wi-je with his right foot on the left side of the goal area.
However, Gwangju dramatically equalized in the 46th minute of the second half when a shot by Ba 루아 was blocked by the goalkeeper, and Idyle followed up to slot it home.
Jeju claimed a 1-0 victory over Gangwon in their away match held at the Gangneung High1 Arena thanks to a winning goal by Italo.
This marks Jeju's first victory against Gangwon in 3 years and 5 months, since their 1-0 away win in Chuncheon in April 2023.
During the intervening period, Jeju had struggled against Gangwon with 8 draws and 3 losses in 11 league encounters.
Extending their recent undefeated streak to 5 matches (3 wins and 2 draws), Jeju moved up one spot to third in the standings.
On the other hand, fifth-placed Gangwon saw their 5-match unbeaten streak (1 win and 4 draws) come to an end, remaining at 42 points.
In the match, Jeju broke the deadlock in the 36th minute of the first half when Kim Shin-jin headed down a cross from the right side at the left of the goal area, and Italo fired a left-footed shot into the net after the Gangwon defense failed to properly clear the loose ball drifting to the right.
Gangwon, who failed to record a single shot in the first half, reorganized their formation through substitutions after the break and pressed Jeju, but struggled to break through Jeju's solid defensive wall.
(Photo provided by Korea Professional Football League, Yonhap News)
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