The 2018 K League 1 was the 36th season of the top division of professional football in South Korea since its establishment in 1983, and the sixth season of the K League 1, former K League Classic. The K League Classic was changed its name to "K League 1" in this season. As the 2018 FIFA World Cup start on 14 June, the last round before stoppage will be held on 19–20 May. The league will resume games on 7 July.
| Season | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 2 March – 2 December 2018 |
| Champions | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (6th title) |
| Relegated | Jeonnam Dragons |
| Champions League | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Gyeongnam FC Ulsan Hyundai Daegu FC |
| Matches played | 228 |
| Goals scored | 620 (2.72 per match) |
| Best Player | Marcão |
| Top goalscorer | Marcão (26 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Gangwon 7–0 Incheon (19 August 2018) |
| Biggest away win | Gyeongnam 0–4 Jeonbuk (11 April 2018) Seoul 0–4 Jeonbuk (20 May 2018) |
| Highest scoring | Jeonnam 6–4 Suwon (19 August 2018) |
| Longest winning run | 9 matches Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Longest unbeaten run | 10 matches Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Longest winless run | 14 matches Incheon United |
| Longest losing run | 6 matches Daegu FC |
| Highest attendance | 30,122 Seoul 2–1 Suwon (5 May 2018) |
| Lowest attendance | 290 Sangju 0–1 Gangwon (24 November 2018) |
| Average attendance | 5,381 |
← 2017 2019 → | |
Teams edit
General information edit
Stadiums edit
| Daegu FC | Gangwon FC | Gyeongnam FC | Incheon United | Jeju United | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daegu Stadium | Chuncheon Songam Leports Town | Changwon Football Center | Incheon Football Stadium | Jeju World Cup Stadium | Jeonju World Cup Stadium |
| Capacity: 66,422 | Capacity: 20,000 | Capacity: 20,245 | Capacity: 20,891 | Capacity: 35,657 | Capacity: 42,477 |
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| Jeonnam Dragons | Pohang Steelers | Sangju Sangmu | FC Seoul | Suwon Samsung Bluewings |
Ulsan Hyundai |
| Gwangyang Football Stadium | Pohang Steel Yard | Sangju Civic Stadium | Seoul World Cup Stadium | Suwon World Cup Stadium | Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium |
| Capacity: 13,496 | Capacity: 17,443 | Capacity: 15,042 | Capacity: 66,704 | Capacity: 44,031 | Capacity: 44,102 |
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Foreign players edit
Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries. A team could use four foreign players on the field each game including a least one player from the AFC confederation. Players name in bold are registered during the mid-season transfer window.
- As of 26 May 2018
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (C) | 38 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 75 | 31 | +44 | 86 | Qualification for Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Gyeongnam FC | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 59 | 44 | +15 | 65 | |
| 3 | Ulsan Hyundai | 38 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 61 | 46 | +15 | 63 | Qualification for Champions League play-off round |
| 4 | Pohang Steelers | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 47 | 48 | −1 | 54 | |
| 5 | Jeju United | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 54 | |
| 6 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 53 | 54 | −1 | 50 | |
| 7 | Daegu FC | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 47 | 56 | −9 | 50 | Qualification for Champions League group stage[a] |
| 8 | Gangwon FC | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 56 | 60 | −4 | 46 | |
| 9 | Incheon United | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 55 | 69 | −14 | 42 | |
| 10 | Sangju Sangmu | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 41 | 52 | −11 | 40 | |
| 11 | FC Seoul (O) | 38 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 40 | 48 | −8 | 40 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
| 12 | Jeonnam Dragons (R) | 38 | 8 | 8 | 22 | 43 | 69 | −26 | 32 | Relegation to K League 2 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference; 4) Wins; 5) Head-to-head points
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Positions by matchday edit
Leaders
Qualification for Champions League group stage
Qualification for Champions League play-off round
Qualification for relegation play-offs
Relegation to K League 2
Round 1–33 edit
Round 34–38 edit
Results edit
Matches 1–22 edit
Teams play each other twice, once at home, once away.
Matches 23–33 edit
Teams play every other team once (either at home or away).
Matches 34–38 edit
After 33 matches, the league splits into two sections of six teams each, with teams playing every other team in their section once (either at home or away). The exact matches are determined upon the league table at the time of the split.
Relegation play-offs edit
The promotion-relegation play-offs were held between the winners of the 2018 K League 2 play-offs and the 11th-placed club of the 2018 K League 1. The winners on aggregate score after both matches earned entry into the 2019 K League 1.
| Busan IPark | 1–3 | FC Seoul |
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| FC Seoul | 1–1 | Busan IPark |
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Report |
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FC Seoul won 4–2 on aggregate and therefore both clubs remain in their respective leagues.
Player statistics edit
Top scorers edit
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Marcão
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Gyeongnam FC | 26 |
| 2 |  Uroš Đerić
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Gangwon FC | 24 |
| 3 | Júnior Negrão
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Ulsan Hyundai | 22 |
| 4 |  Stefan Mugoša
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Incheon United | 19 |
| 5 |  Moon Seon-min
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Incheon United | 14 |
| 6 | Ricardo Lopes
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Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 13 |
| Dejan Damjanović
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Suwon Samsung Bluewings | ||
| Lee Dong-gook
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Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | ||
| 9 | Kim Shin-wook
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Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 11 |
| 10 | Heo Yong-joon
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Jeonnam Dragons | 9 |
Source:[1]
Top assist providers edit
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cesinha
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Daegu FC | 11 |
| 2 |  Elías Aguilar
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Incheon United | 10 |
| 3 | Lee Yong
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Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 9 |
| 4 | Hong Chul
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Sangju Sangmu Suwon Samsung Bluewings |
8 |
| 5 | Han Seung-gyu
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Ulsan Hyundai | 7 |
| Negueba
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Gyeongnam FC |
Source:[1]
Awards edit
Main awards edit
The 2018 K League Awards was held on 3 December 2018.
Source:[2]
Best XI edit
| Position | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Jo Hyeon-woo
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Daegu FC |
| Defenders | Hong Chul
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Suwon Samsung Bluewings |
| Kim Min-jae
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Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | |
 Richard Windbichler
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Ulsan Hyundai | |
| Lee Yong
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Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | |
| Midfielders | Negueba
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Gyeongnam FC |
| Choi Young-jun
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Gyeongnam FC | |
| Elías Aguilar
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Incheon United | |
| Ricardo Lopes
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Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | |
| Forwards | Marcão
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Gyeongnam FC |
| Júnior Negrão
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Ulsan Hyundai |
Source:[2]
Player of the Round edit
Manager of the Month edit
| Month | Manager | Club | Division |
|---|---|---|---|
| March | Jung Gab-suk
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Bucheon FC 1995 | K League 2 |
| April | Choi Kang-hee
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Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | K League 1 |
| May | Nam Ki-il
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Seongnam FC | K League 2 |
| July | Kim Jong-boo
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Gyeongnam FC | K League 1 |
| August | Ko Jong-soo
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Daejeon Citizen | K League 2 |
| September | Ko Jong-soo
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Daejeon Citizen | K League 2 |
| October | Jo Sung-hwan
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Jeju United | K League 1 |
Attendance edit
Attendants who entered with free ticket are not counted.
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 226,224 | 19,108 | 5,005 | 11,907 | +1.9% |
| 2 | FC Seoul | 219,665 | 30,122 | 4,714 | 11,561 | −29.1% |
| 3 | Ulsan Hyundai | 142,944 | 14,228 | 1,059 | 7,523 | −11.1% |
| 4 | Pohang Steelers | 140,668 | 15,393 | 3,073 | 7,404 | −11.6% |
| 5 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 114,943 | 13,853 | 2,940 | 6,709 | −23.6% |
| 6 | Incheon United | 84,151 | 7,282 | 1,402 | 4,429 | −25.3% |
| 7 | Daegu FC | 66,837 | 13,351 | 477 | 3,518 | +5.3% |
| 8 | Jeonnam Dragons | 62,615 | 11,036 | 1,830 | 3,296 | −19.8% |
| 9 | Gyeongnam FC | 62,615 | 13,082 | 932 | 3,170 | +32.3%† |
| 10 | Jeju United | 60,033 | 8,354 | 1,215 | 3,160 | −22.1% |
| 11 | Gangwon FC | 25,765 | 4,530 | 569 | 1,356 | −41.2% |
| 12 | Sangju Sangmu | 25,050 | 2,317 | 290 | 1,318 | −19.9% |
| League total | 1,241,667 | 30,122 | 290 | 5,445 | −16.3% |
Updated to games played on 7 December 2018
Source: K League
Notes:
† Teams that played previous season in K League Challenge.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b "Data center - Official records - Recording room - K League 1 records - Individual record table" (in Korean). K League Data Portal. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ a b 말컹, K리그 최초 1·2부리그 MVP 석권…감독상 최강희 (in Korean). Inews24. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2021.