With the stretch drive in the nation’s top-division soccer league around the corner, head coaches of the top-ranked clubs said Thursday they are bracing themselves for heated competition for the championship.

The 16-team K-League has been divided into two groups of eight clubs in the first year of the “split” system. Teams were then placed in the top and the bottom tiers based on their records after 30 games. FC Seoul topped the standing with 64 points, five clear of the second-place Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Trailing them in the standings are: Suwong Samsung Bluewings, Ulsan Hyundai Tigers, Pohang Steelers, Busan I’Park, Jeju United and Gyeongnam FC.

FC Seoul was the dominant squad from start to finish. It began the season winning four of the first six matches, and ended the first phase by taking five of its final six. In between, FC Seoul also enjoyed an 11-game unbeaten streak.

Choi Yong-soo, Seoul’s head coach, said the season is far from over. “There is very little separation in terms of quality among these eight teams,” he said. “We will start the second phase from scratch, and take each game like a championship match.”

FC Seoul scored 54 goals, the third-highest total, and gave up a league-low 28 goals. (Yonhap News)