5 key takeaways from the first leg of the Malaysia - Vietnam final.

But this 12th encounter was even more memorable, with the rain lasting for several hours failing to dampen the intensity of the Bukit Jalil stadium. Let's take a look at 5 key highlights of this match.

1. Football Festival.According to a reporter from Nghe An Newspaper currently working in Kuala Lumpur, black market tickets in Malaysia are being offered for up to 120 Ringgit (approximately 700,000 VND) each. Meanwhile, the original price of each ticket is only 40 Ringgit (approximately 200,000 VND) for general seating and 50 Ringgit (approximately 300,000 VND) for covered seating.

In addition, the Bukit Jalil Stadium organizing committee has set up numerous locations around the stadium to broadcast the match against Vietnam live on giant LED screens. These include Axiata Arena, a famous Malaysian arena with a capacity of approximately 15,000 spectators. Therefore, besides the 90,000 spectators inside Bukit Jalil Stadium, there will be many more cheering fans outside the stadium, creating a football festival in Malaysia.

Host nation Malaysia had to deploy 1,200 police officers to ensure security and order during the match.

As coach Tan Cheng Hoe stated, Malaysia attacked, but they didn't secure all three points as desired. (Image: Internet)

2. The effectiveness of "witch doctors" giving advice.To defeat the Vietnamese national team, the Malaysian Football Association's Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim personally invited "wizard" Rajagobal Krishnasamy to visit and give him advice.

Malaysian media reported that coach Tan Cheng Hoe also invited "the wizard" Rajagobal to devise a strategy to successfully defeat Thailand in the semi-finals of the 2018 AFF Cup. Coach Tan Cheng Hoe was previously an assistant to Rajagobal, who had twice defeated our national team in the 2009 SEA Games and the 2010 AFF Cup.

Specifically, nine years ago in Laos, the Malaysian U23 team defeated the Vietnamese U23 team 1-0 to win the SEA Games gold medal, despite the fact that the Vietnamese U23 team had beaten the Malaysian U23 team 3-1 in the group stage.

A year later, Rajagobal continued to bring disappointment to Vietnamese football at the 2010 AFF Cup. After two legs of the semi-finals, the Malaysian team defeated Henrique Calisto's side with a total score of 2-0.

This time, Malaysia managed to turn the tables and equalize 2-2, thanks in large part to Rajagobal Krishnasamy.

3. Highlights of the teamAlthough they didn't score, Van Duc and Quang Hai were the best players for the Vietnamese team. While Huy Hung's first goal came from midfielder Van Duc cleverly beating right-back Aznan and passing the ball inside (in his first appearance), Duc Huy's second goal saw the player from Nghe An province control the ball and wait for a second-line player to run forward and score.

Meanwhile, Quang Hai provided four assists that could have led to goals for Duc Chinh, Tien Linh, and Van Duc himself. If we had capitalized on those opportunities, we should have scored more than two goals away from home.

Goalkeeper Van Lam also showed some signs of nervousness, but in the final minutes he performed quite excellently, securing a favorable 2-2 draw ahead of the second leg.

Malaysia managed to turn the tide and draw 2-2, thanks in large part to the "magician" Rajagobal Krishnasamy. (Image from the internet)

4. Fixed situation:While Vietnam's defense only conceded 2 goals in the semi-finals across the 6 matches played so far this season, goalkeeper Van Lam had to pick the ball out of the net twice in the first leg of the final alone.

Unfortunately, the Vietnamese team conceded two goals from set pieces. One was a header from close range by center-back Saad, who was unmarked, and the other was a skillful curling shot into the far corner of goalkeeper Van Lam's net.

Coach Park certainly has a lot of work to do with the Vietnamese national team's defense.

5. Card Rain:The fact that the referee had to issue 8 yellow cards – 5 for the home team and 3 for the Vietnamese team (Dinh Trong, Van Hau, Duy Manh) – shows how fiercely contested this match was between the two teams. Fortunately, no Vietnamese player received two yellow cards and would miss the return match at My Dinh Stadium.