Jeonbuk Hyundai smiled on the road to Daejeon and advanced to the quarterfinals.

Jeonbuk Hyundai won 3-2 against Daejeon Hana Citizen in the round of 16 of the 2025 Hana Bank Korea Cup at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the afternoon of the 14th. That day, Jeonbuk implemented some rotations considering the league, but achieved a pleasing victory against Daejeon, who is a competitor for the top position and utilized all its main players, moving towards the cup tournament championship trophy.

Jeonbuk and Daejeon drew 1-1 in the K League 1 round 12 on the 6th. Jeon Jin-woo scored the opening goal, but Kim In-kyun equalized with a dramatic late goal just before the end, resulting in a draw. In a rematch held eight days later, Jeonbuk, which implemented rotations, achieved a convincing victory, hinting at a twist in the league's top competition.

Jeonbuk started with Hernandez, Thiago, Lee Young-jae, Jin Tae-ho, Kang Sang-yoon, Kim Young-bin, Park Jin-seob, Kim Ha-jun, Kim Tae-hyun, Yeon Je-woon, and Song Bum-keun. Rotations were given to main player Jeon Jin-woo. On the other hand, Daejeon started with a lineup focused on main members, including Masa, Gutek, Shin Sang-eun, Kelvin, Bob Shin, Kang Yoon-sung, Park Kyu-hyun, Kim Moon-hwan, Ha Chang-rae, Lim Jong-eun, and Lee Chang-geun.

The game was intense from the beginning. Jeonbuk, implementing some rotations, gained the upper hand against Daejeon, who played with their best lineup. In the 18th minute of the first half, Daejon's Bob Shin fell due to injury, and Kim Jun-beom was brought on as a substitute. Jeonbuk, who was dominating, opened the scoring in the 27th minute with a goal from Thiago, whose powerful right-footed shot hit the goalpost and went straight into the goal.

With a fantastic goal, Jeonbuk took the lead and calmly continued their offensive. The first half ended with a score of 1-0. Just before the start of the second half, Daejeon brought in Kim Hyun-wook and Joo Min-kyu. In the 5th minute of the second half, Kim Moon-hwan went down, and Oh Jae-seok was substituted in. As Daejeon's concentration waned, Lee Young-jae's corner kick was finished off by Park Jin-seob in the 10th minute of the second half, extending the lead to 2-0.

Jeonbuk's coach Gus Poyet brought in Compaño and Lee Seung-woo in the 22nd minute of the second half. This duo also proved effective. In the 28th minute of the second half, Compaño connected a header from Lee Young-jae's corner kick with brilliant positioning, scoring the insurance and winning goal.

In a situation trailing 0-3, Daejeon's fierce pursuit began. Daejeon, launching an all-out offensive, saw Kim In-kyun finish a cross from the back with a header in the 43rd minute of the second half, cutting the deficit. That was not the end. In stoppage time of the second half, Joo Min-kyu scored again, narrowing the score to 2-3.

However, there were no additional goals. The match concluded with Jeonbuk's 3-2 Pele score victory.

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