Korea Cup round of 16 goes to penalties in six of eight matches, two K League 2 teams

K League 1 (1st Division) leader Ulsan HD has reached the quarterfinals of the 2024 Hana Bank Korea Cup with a hard-fought victory.

Head coach Hong Myung-bo's Ulsan defeated Park Dong-hyuk's Gyeongnam FC 3-0 on penalties after the two sides were tied 3-3 after 90 minutes and 4-4 in extra time in their round of 16 home match at the Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan on Monday.

After conceding an early goal to Gyeongnam's Cho Sang-joon in the first 15 minutes, Ulsan took advantage of their numerical advantage when their opponent was sent off in the 42nd minute. The referee awarded Ulsan a penalty kick and showed Lee a red card after Gyeongnam's Lee Min-ki blocked his shot with his arm just before it entered the net.

However, even after the 1-1 tie, Ulsan was unable to take control of the game. Gyeongnam's Lee Min-hyuk scored a goal to regain the lead in the 17th minute of the second half. Ulsan looked like they were going to take the lead in the second half with back-to-back goals from Ataru in the 30th minute and Eom Won-sang in the 34th minute, but in the 39th minute, Gyeongnam's Lee Jong-un neutralized three Ulsan defenders with his quick movement and scored with his right foot to tie the game at 3-3.

Gyeongnam fought back to make it 4-3 in the 12th minute of extra time when Seol Hyun-jin's left-footed mid-range shot found the back of the net. Ulsan escaped elimination in the 10th minute of the 안전놀이터 second half of extra time when Kim Min-woo's left-footed shot that hit the opponent's goalkeeper directly and deflected off the post was a lucky goal. In the penalty shootout, backup goalkeeper Moon Hyun-ho came up big in the shootout, and Ulsan booked their place in the quarterfinals.

Jeonbuk Hyundai was stunned by a lower league team. Jeonbuk lost 0-1 to Gimpo FC in an away match at the Gimpo Solter Football Stadium. It was a dismal year for Jeonbuk, who slumped to 11th place in the K League 1, the worst finish in the league, and an early exit from the Korea Cup, the only competition they had a shot at winning this season.

Kim Doo-hyun, the highly touted new head coach of Jeonbuk, has yet to record a win in four official matches (1-3).

At the Incheon Football Stadium, Incheon United narrowly missed out on a spot in the quarterfinals with a 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Gimcheon Sangmu after the teams played to a 0-0 draw in extra time.

Gwangju FC advanced to the quarterfinals for the second straight year with a 3-2 away win over Bucheon FC. Gwangju took an early lead with three goals in the first half from Lee Eun-hee (two) and Gabriel.

Only two of the eight matches finished inside 90 minutes, and six of the matches went to penalty kicks. Six teams - Pohang, Gwangju, Ulsan, Incheon, Seoul, and Daejeon - punched their tickets to the quarterfinals in K League 1, while two teams - Gimpo and Seongnam FC - punched their tickets to the quarterfinals in the second division.

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'Shocking' parting with club legend not pretty... Barca sacks Xavi

FC Barcelona has fired head coach Xavi Hernandez. 

"Xavi will no longer be our coach at the end of the season," the club announced on its official website on Thursday. President Juan Laporta has informed Xavi that he will not continue as first team coach for the 2024-2025 season." 

Xavi was a midfielder for Barcelona for 17 years, from 1998 to 2015. He won eight Primera Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League titles during his time with the club.

After leaving Barcelona, Xavi played for Al Sadd for four more years before finishing his career. Xavi has been in charge of Barcelona since 2021 after two years in charge of Al Sadd, starting in 2019. He won the La Liga title with Barcelona last season.

However, Xavi has had a failed season at Barcelona this season. Barcelona has had a disastrous season. First, they failed to win La Liga. With 25 wins, 7 draws, 5 losses, and 82 points, Barcelona finished second in La Liga, handing the trophy to Real Madrid.

They also failed to win a cup. In January, Barcelona suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of rival Real Madrid. Barcelona lost 1-4 to Real in the final of the Supercopa de España in Saudi Arabia, handing them the trophy. Barcelona were the defending champions of the Spanish Super Cup.

It didn't stop there. Barcelona was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey by Athletic Club, 2-4. In the UEFA Champions League, they also made it to the quarterfinals, but fell to their knees 스포츠토토 at the quarterfinal stage after losing to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

Xavi decided to step down in January. Barcelona lost 3-5 against Villarreal in the 22nd round. At the time, Xavi said, "As a fan of Barcelona, I felt that I could no longer ignore the situation. I will not be in charge of Barcelona after June," he said at the time.

Barcelona moved quickly to find a replacement. The club has shortlisted some of the hottest coaches in Europe in recent years, including Hanzi Flick, Roberto De Zervi, and Julian Nagelsmann. Current Barcelona second team coach Rafael Marquez was also considered for the job.

In the midst of the search for a new coach, Xavi reversed his decision. The players wanted him to stay, and after much persuasion from Barcelona president Juan Laporta, Xavi decided to stay.

However, the good relationship between Xavi and Laporta didn't last long. In a recent interview, Xavi criticized Barcelona's financial problems and Laporta was very disappointed with him. Barcelona's hierarchy decided to fire Xavi again.

"Barcelona thanks Xavi for his work as a coach, which has added to his unparalleled career as a player and captain of the team, and wishes him all the luck in the world," the club said in a statement. Xavi will coach his final game as coach this Sunday in Round 38 against Sevilla."

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Goes 21 games without a goal, out for the season with injury

Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi has spoken about Evan Ferguson.

Ferguson is a favorite of the Seagulls, having joined the club during the 2020/21 season from Irish side Bohemians. After initially playing for the youth team, he was included in the first team roster ahead of the 2021/22 season. He made four appearances and one assist in his first season.

The following year, Ferguson gradually adapted to the senior game. Last season, he made a name for himself with 10 goals and three assists in 25 games. His early performances this season have also been good, notably a hat-trick against Newcastle United in the fourth round of the English Premier League (PL).

He also made history when he opened the scoring against Fulham in the 10th round of the PL. According to Goal.com, he became the first teenager since Wayne Rooney to score 10 or more goals in the PL in a single year (second half of the 22/23 season, first half of the 23/24 season).

There were reports that several big clubs were interested in Ferguson, but Brighton were unwilling to part with their top prospect. Last November, Ferguson signed a new contract with Brighton until June 2029.

But since then, he's been in a serious slump. Since November, he hasn"t found the back of the net in 21 games. Recently, he suffered an ankle injury. He"s likely to miss the rest of the season.

Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi has spoken out about 먹튀검증 Ferguson"s injuries and lack of form. "You have to make a difference between injuries and your career," he said. "You can"t control injuries. The process of development is different."

"You have to accept that a young player, who is only 19 years old, can have a good moment with a goal and then the opposite can happen. It's a difficult moment, especially for a striker," he said.

"A striker can be scoring two goals in a game. And then suddenly you can't score with your hands. This is soccer. It can happen to young players. You can be good one season and not be good the next," he defended.

Despite the slump, De Jervi said Ferguson is the future of the team. "We have to analyze the injuries so we can plan," he said. Ferguson is definitely the future of Brighton," he said.

Meanwhile, De Jervi commented on the injuries that have plagued the team this season: "This season has been difficult, we've had so many injuries to key players. But the season is not over," he said.

"We would have liked to compete in a different way in the last three months, but we have to accept what has happened. We've been through a tough period and it will give us more experience."

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Kia's bullpen is said to be formidable... it's true: 0-0 ERA since opening day

Those picking the Kia to win the title this season cite the stability of their bullpen as one of the reasons. They have quality, but they also have quantity. There are many examples of players who would have been useful in the first team on other teams not making the opening roster and being sent to the second team.

The KIA bullpen is proving that the pre-season preview was not an exaggeration. The bullpen has won all three games it has played since opening day, and has cruised without allowing a single earned run. Each player in the strong pitching staff is doing their part. It's not about any one player, it's a team effort.

Kia won 8-2 against Lotte at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field on April 27. The offense was able to capitalize on an error in the first inning to score six runs, but the bullpen was able to hold steady and keep the game close.

James Nail was one of the best sweepers in the KBO, picking apart Lotte batters like a leaf in a windstorm. He allowed just one run over six innings while striking out nine, and the bullpen followed suit with three scoreless innings. In the seventh inning, Jang Hyun-sik gave up a run, but it was unearned due to a fielding error. In the eighth, Kwak Do-gyu allowed the leadoff batter to walk but did not allow a run, and in the ninth, Kim Dae-yoo pitched a clean inning to secure the win.

In Kia's opening game against Kiwoom on March 23, after starter Will Crowe was pulled after 5⅔ innings, Kwak Do-gyu, Jeon Sang-hyun, Choi Ji-min, and Jung Hae-young took turns on 스포츠토토 the mound to protect the team's lead. The KIA bullpen allowed just one hit in 3⅓ innings of work on the day. It was a near-perfect relay.

Against Gwangju Lotte on June 26, after starter Yang Hyun-jong was pulled after 5⅓ innings, four bullpen arms came in to protect a one-run lead. Lim Ki-young pitched ⅔ of an inning, and the trio of Choi Ji-min, Jeon Sang-hyun, and Jeong Jung-young pitched another three shutout innings to secure the win. None of the pitchers allowed an earned run, and the bullpen remained ERA-less through three games and 10 innings on Sunday.

Kia manager Lee Beom-ho had already finalized his five pitchers, including closer Jung Hae-young, Jeon Sang-hyun, Choi Ji-min, Im Ki-young, and Jang Hyun-sik. There was fierce competition for the remaining three or four spots, and the pitchers who went down to the second team are also showing great competitiveness, so if they let their guard down, they can go straight to the second team.

With such a deep roster, Lee is happy to be able to give his pitchers a break. In the case of closer Jeong Jung-young, he thinks it's possible to pitch three consecutive games in a save situation, but the rest of the pitchers are not allowed to pitch three consecutive games. With four set-up men, it's possible to envision a rotation where the starters can go five or six innings and then rotate in and out. There will be bumps in the road, but the bullpen depth to get through them is something to look forward to.