Sydney FC Advances to ACL Semis with Costa-Inspired Win Over Korean Giants

Entering the second leg with a two-goal cushion, Sydney FC came out looking to solidify their advantage quickly.

Patryk Klimala nearly found the target with a shot from a tight angle following a swift Sydney counterattack, but his attempt was deflected out for a corner. Joe Lolley subsequently threatened again with a powerful strike from outside the area, only for Jeonbuk keeper Kim Jeong-hoon to parry the shot away.

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Just moments later, Klimala thought he had scored again, only to have the goal disallowed for a marginal offside after a VAR check, reducing Sydney’s aggregate lead back to two goals.

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As Sydney piled on early pressure, the visitors began to settle into the match and posed a threat to the Sydney defence.

Jeonbuk went close with two consecutive chances just past the 30-minute mark, both resulting in close-range headers that nearly broke through. Park Jae-yong’s header from a corner went wide, followed shortly by Jin-woo’s first attempt on target, which was expertly saved by Devenish-Meares.

However, the Sydney keeper could do nothing about Jin-woo’s next effort. After receiving a cut-back cross near the penalty spot, the Jeonbuk winger struck a powerful first-time shot into the top-right corner, halving Sydney’s advantage.

Jeonbuk continued to press for an equaliser, and in first-half stoppage time, Jae-yong struck again with a header, but Devenish-Meares produced an acrobatic save. Nana Boateng then took aim at Sydney’s goal, his effort tipped onto the post by the persistent keeper.

From the ensuing corner, Jin-woo capitalised on a rebound, netting from close range to level the tie by taking advantage of Devenish-Meares’s fumble after Boateng’s volley.

Both Boateng and Jin-woo had far too much space as several Sydney defenders hesitated, allowing the aggregate lead to dwindle.

The second half began with Sydney FC losing possession immediately, setting up a golden opportunity for Jin-woo to complete his hat-trick and put Jeonbuk ahead. Fortunately, Devenish-Meares denied him once again with a well-timed save.

Though subdued in the first half, Douglas Costa came alive shortly after the restart, unleashing a powerful long-range shot that was directed away by Jeong-hoon.

As Jeonbuk began to assert their dominance, Sydney managed to shift the momentum around the hour mark. Alex Grant scored his first goal for Sydney FC at a crucial moment, capitalising on a chaotic sequence following a free-kick delivery from Costa, with a fortunate deflection guiding him into the right position.

An anxious moment for Sydney fans came when Jeonbuk’s Ahn Hyeon-beom found the net with what seemed like a crucial response, only for the goal to be disallowed due to a narrow offside call.

Following this scare, Costa produced a moment of sheer genius, once again extending Sydney’s lead. After collecting the ball on the left flank, he dazzled defenders with his footwork, drawing them in before making a no-look, outside-foot pass to find Jordan Courtney-Perkins in space.

Courtney-Perkins then cut back to Klimala, who took a brilliant first touch to create the necessary space and found the bottom-right corner to restore Sydney’s two-goal aggregate advantage.

With the match firmly in their grasp, Sydney sealed the result when Boateng fouled Segecic in the box, leading to a penalty being awarded to the Sky Blues. Douglas Costa stepped up once more, sending the ball into the bottom-right corner and propelling Sydney FC into the semi-finals.