The K League 1 Wrap-Up: Who Will Challenge Daejeon Hana Citizen? | OneFootball

Despite only five games being played this weekend, there was still a lot to talk about, with the top of the table looking extremely competitive, and potential new title contenders emerging. With that in mind, Nathan Sartain returns to recap all of the action from round 10 of the 2025 K League 1 season.

Almost every week now, new teams seem to enter the potential title race that’s brewing. Gimcheon Sangmu, FC Seoul, Gwangju FC, Ulsan HD, and now Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors either have, are, or likely will be mounting a challenge to current league leaders Daejeon Hana Citizen, with plenty of the aforementioned sides enjoying favourable starts to their 2025 campaigns.

For Jeonbuk, their current six-game unbeaten run has moved them into second. In a 2-1 away win over Suwon FC this weekend, the Green Warriors weren’t exactly on top form, and realistically couldn’t have argued should the game have finished level following Lee Taek-geun’s late equaliser for the home side. But contenders always find ways of churning out results, and thanks to Jeon Jin-woo’s sixth-goal of the season, Gus Poyet’s men found their winner in the 96th-minute. That’s now the fifth league victory of the season for Jeonbuk, who took 24 rounds to reach the same total last year, showing clear signs of progression.

Elsewhere, Gimcheon Sangmu reasserted their own ambitions, beating Ulsan HD 2-0 to leapfrog the Horangi and move into third. The military side may still be six points away from Daejeon (albeit with a game-in-hand), but getting back to winning ways following back-to-back defeats is a big step in the right direction, and keeps them firmly in touch with the other top teams. After getting his red card rescinded, Yu Kang-hyun will be relieved to get on the scoresheet this week too, helping set the groundwork for what was ultimately a comfortable Gimcheon win.

As for Daejeon themselves, they dominated in a 1-0 win over Gangwon FC, who themselves went down to 10-men after a reckless Kim Kyung-min challenge on goalkeeper Lee Chang-geun early in the second-half. The Purples will be pleased with their buildup play here, as it showed a lot of promise despite the fact the eventual breakthrough came via a corner. At 23 points, Daejeon are now currently five-points clear at the top.

What's The Goal For FC Anyang?

Over the past few weeks, FC Anyang have shown their mettle as a competitive K League 1 club, and one capable of going toe-to-toe with any other team in the division. Not only have the Violets managed to win three of their last four home matches, but they’ve been good value for money too, earning positive results by way of genuine quality. In turn, Ryu Byeong-hoon’s men have moved into the top-half, potentially on their way to a comfortable season.

So, with that in mind, what is the end goal for Anyang in 2025? Of course, avoiding the promotion/relegation playoffs would constitute a successful debut in the top-tier, and provide a steady platform to build upon, but have the Violets also shown they can aim just that bit higher? With the league table so tight right now, there’s certainly plenty of room for a number of teams to secure a Final A finish, and there’s no reason why Anyang can’t jostle their way in, especially if they keep their form up on their own patch.

Plus, in recent history newly-promoted sides do actually fare quite well when making the step-up to the top-flight. In fact, the last two seasons have seen the reigning K League 2 champions finish in third-place, while Daejeon Hana Citizen (who had won a promotion/relegation playoff to earn their spot in the 2023 K League 1 lineup) comfortably finished eighth when they came up, well away from any sort of danger. Based on how this season is going, you certainly can’t rule out Anyang having similar fortunes.

When Life Gives You Tangerines

Upcoming in round 11, the bottom four teams in K League 1 will have a chance to take points from each other.

Firstly, a Saturday afternoon match sees 11th-placed Daegu FC face Jeju SK, with the Sky Blues hoping to reverse a run of seven consecutive defeats, and close the gap on the teams above them. The Tangerines, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 by FC Anyang this weekend, but have been in relatively decent form overall, winning two and drawing one of their last five matches. A victory for Jeju here could put them as high as eighth, although they have picked up just two points on the road so far in 2025.

Then, some Saturday night action sees Gangwon FC host bottom-place Suwon FC. For the Bears, they were defeated 1-0 away at Daejeon on Sunday, ending their two-game winning streak in the process. This makes it two wins and four losses across the provincial club's last six outings, so they’ll aim for better consistency in the coming weeks, and believe round 11 represents an opportunity to work towards that goal. Suwon, on the other hand, need points, and will be unhappy with losing consecutive matches after finally earning their first win of the year back in round eight. The highest Kim Eun-jung’s men could climb is 11th should they triumph - or even draw - next weekend, but it would at least afford a chance at some breathing space away from rock-bottom.

And that’s about it for this week. In the only other match from Sunday, Pohang Steelers held onto a 1-0 lead against FC Seoul, with Oberdan’s seventh-minute winner the difference. Thus, the Steelers now sit just outside the top-half, whereas Seoul have extended their winless run to four matches.