Jesse Lingard (FC Seoul) seemed more responsible as he wore the captain’s armband for two consecutive games.
Seoul won a home game against Suwon FC in the 18th round of the Hana Bank K League 1 2024 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Tuesday. Park Sung-hoon, Kang Sung-jin, and Willian scored back-to-back goals and won the game 3-0.
Lingard took the captaincy for the second straight game following the match against Ulsan HD in the 17th round. He filled the vacancy of Ki Sung-yueng, the “captain” who left due to an Achilles tendon injury.
“I didn’t talk about it separately, but he thought he was the captain,” Seoul coach Kim Ki-dong said before the game, adding, “I left him today because I thought he would be upset if I didn’t give him the captain’s armband.”
Lingard, who wore the captain’s armband for the second consecutive game, said, “I feel very good. I think playing as a captain is a very important part.” “I feel like not only myself but also many leaders are forming in the team,” he said. “Even younger players started talking a lot, and I feel good because it creates a louder atmosphere.”
Lingard did not have an offensive point on the day, but he played the role of captain and contributed to the team’s victory.
In particular, it was impressive that he was involved in Kang Sung-jin’s scoring in the 41st minute of the second half when he led 1-0. Lingard broke down the defense with a seasoned trick move, and Kang Sung-jin, who received the ball as it was, rushed to the gate and scored with a clean shot.
“I already knew about that,” Lingard said of the situation at the time. “I always knew that the striker was standing behind me a lot, so I knew he was under pressure,” he recalled. “When I saw (Kang) Sung-jin behind me, I shed some tears on purpose. I think I saw well how Ilyushchenko (who started).”
“Sung-jin is not a target-type striker, he is a fast player,” he said, adding, “I understood Sung-jin’s strengths, so I thought he would be inundated if he let it flow backward.”
Lingard has been gradually improving his condition since returning from knee injury last month. “I think I have come up a lot physically. I think I will get about nine out of 10 points,” he said of his current physical condition. “I personally think the part that I need to adapt to is the weather. I have never played in the summer, so I need to adapt quickly.”
Manager Kim said, “I raised my guard. I said there were no games that I won as a starter,” adding, “I thought we should show winning performance.” Lingard responded with a chuckle, “The coach always plays a lot of jokes on me. He also made a lot of jokes about that.”
It is regrettable that Lingard does not have any points of attack yet. Notably, Lingard has yet to perform his signature “Piri ceremony” in front of Korean fans.
Lingard said, “I wish I had an offensive point, but I think it’s more important to create chances,” adding, “I go into the mindset of playing for the team rather than thinking that I should create an offensive point. Then I think goals and assists will naturally follow.”토토사이트 순위
Seoul won its first match in six games since the match against Incheon United in the 12th round. With three more points added, the team recorded five wins, six draws, seven losses and 21 points, rising to seventh place.
In the second half of the year, he needs to show better performance. “I tend to have a lot of conversations with the coach. He tries to have a lot of conversations with the coach,” Lingard said. “I think it’s important to maintain good performance by taking today’s win as a turning point.”