South Korean football rivals Ulsan HD FC and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors played to a 1-1 draw in the opening leg of the quarterfinals at the top Asian club tournament Tuesday.The K League 1 foes traded a goal apiece in each half in their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League showdown at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, some 200 kilometers south of Seoul.The return leg is next Tuesday at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, about 300 kilometers southeast of the capital.Jeonbuk only needed about three minutes to get on the board. On a fast break opportunity, Lee Dong-jun sped down the right wing and threaded a cross to Song Min-kyu, who slotted it home past goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo.Jeonbuk wasted a chance to double their lead in the 25th minute, when Tiago Orobo’s penalty struck the crossbar. Lee Dong-jun had drawn the spot kick after getting kicked in the ribs by defender Lee Myung-jae.Ulsan had their first dangerous look during stoppage time, with Um Won-sang’s right-footed shot from the right side of the box was turned aside by Kim Jeong-hoon in the Jeonbuk goal.Ulsan finally drew level in the 77th minute, with Lee Myung-jae atoning for his earlier foul.
Jeonbuk defender Jeong Tae-wook tried to clear the loose ball out of the box but ended up sending it right to Lee, who danced past Kim Tae-hwan and found the top shelf with a right-footed shot.Jeonbuk misfired on a couple of close-range shots, with Song sending his right-footed shot wide left in the 79th minute and then Ahn Hyun-beom airmailing a left-footed attempt some five minutes later.These two clubs have forged an intense rivalry in the K League 1 in recent years. From 2019 to 2021, Jeonbuk won three straight K League 1 titles with Ulsan finishing in second place each time. Then in 2022, Ulsan won the league championship with Jeonbuk being the runner-up. Last year, Ulsan defended their K League 1 title while Jeonbuk ended up in fourth place, their lowest placement since 2008.The two clubs are also vying for a spot in the expanded FIFA Club World Cup next year.The AFC will have four spots available at the 32-team tournament. Continental champions from 2021 to 2024 will qualify, and the 2021 and 2022 winners of the AFC Champions League, Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia and Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan, have secured their places.Jeonbuk, Ulsan and Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia are still in the running to qualify, either via AFC club rankings or by winning the ongoing AFC Champions League.Jeonbuk will qualify by advancing to the semifinals at the tournament.For Ulsan to qualify, they will first need to knock out Jeonbuk and will likely need to grab more ranking points in the semifinals.A match victory and progress to each stage of the tournament are each 안전 worth three points, and a draw is good for one point.