Indonesian newspaper 'respects' U23 Vietnam's beautiful actions; Ronaldo shines on his return

Indonesian newspaper 'respects' beautiful actions of U23 Vietnam

On the evening of July 29, the final match of the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 Championship at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium ended with a minimal 1-0 victory for U23 Vietnam against U23 Indonesia.

In its commentary after the 2025 Southeast Asian U23 final, Bola (Indonesia) described the match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Indonesia as "chaotic", when the match was constantly interrupted by collisions, provocations and heated arguments from the two teams.

However, in the tense atmosphere, Bola especially praised the beautiful moment of the U23 Vietnam players. In the 70th minute, striker Dony Tri (Indonesia) was hurt after a collision, the red shirt player proactively went to help, supported him to stand up and asked him questions. Bola called this "a rare sporting action in a tense match".

The small but fair-play action became even more prominent in the context of the match at Gelora Bung Karno, which had continuous situations of scuffles, collisions, and even provocations both on and off the field.

Dinh Bac was scratched on the neck by an Indonesian player, and twice U23 Vietnam and U23 Indonesia players got into a scuffle. The climax happened at the end of the match when coach Kim Sang-sik bowed to the referee, and a member of the Indonesian coaching staff was given a red card.

Ronaldo shines on his return

On the night of July 30, Ronaldo scored in Al Nassr's 2-1 victory over Toulouse.

After nearly 2 months away from the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo returned, leading the Al Nassr attack in a friendly match in Austria. The Portuguese superstar played energetically and scored in the 33rd minute. After a cross from the right wing by his teammate, the veteran born in 1985 finished with one touch, giving the goalkeeper no chance to block.

In the 39th minute, Ronaldo continued to skillfully handle the ball in the middle to eliminate the defender, before decisively shooting with his left foot, sending the ball just over the bar.

While his senior impressed, Joao Felix had a lackluster performance, despite playing until the 67th minute. The player born in 1999 played sluggishly and did not contribute anything to the attack. The former Chelsea player's most notable situation was the ball fight with Ronaldo, causing Al Nassr to miss a scoring opportunity.

In the second half, Ronaldo was taken off. Al Nassr did not play very well but still scored the winning goal 2-1 thanks to Mohammed Marran in the 76th minute.

On August 11, Ronaldo and his teammates will have a friendly match with Almeria, before entering the Super Cup match with Karim Benzema's Al Ittihad on August 19. This is an opportunity for the 40-year-old superstar to win his first official title since arriving in the Middle East.

MU exchange Garnacho for striker

MU is ready to let Alejandro Garnacho go in an exchange deal, in order to find a quality striker for the new season.

According to The Independent, MU has had preliminary talks with Chelsea and Aston Villa about the possibility of exchanging Garnacho for Nicolas Jackson or Ollie Watkins. These are two names in the sights of coach Amorim to complete the attack after the "Red Devils" recruited Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.

However, the deal with Chelsea has encountered price barriers. The London club valued Jackson at 80 million pounds, while only willing to pay around 30 million pounds for Garnacho. On the contrary, the "Red Devils" want to collect a larger amount to ensure the requirements of the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability (PSR) regulations.

Watkins is now a more likely target, with the England striker valued at around £50m. If Aston Villa agree to value Garnacho at £40m, a swap deal could be made. However, Villa remain firm in their stance that they will not sell their star player in this transfer window.

Garnacho has also attracted interest from abroad. Napoli are said to be open to talks with United. The Serie A club have a limited budget of £34.6 million, but could be a good solution to avoid Garnacho joining a direct rival in the Premier League.

For his part, Garnacho is said to still want to stay in England to play, but with MU forced to balance the books, anything is possible.

FA Cup champions in crisis

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner expressed deep disappointment with the team's transfer situation in the summer of 2025.

Despite having just experienced the most successful 2024/25 season in the club's history, winning the FA Cup for the first time and qualifying for the European Cup, Crystal Palace is facing a serious crisis at the top.

Currently, coach Oliver Glasner only has 17 first-team players, a serious shortage compared to other teams when the 2025/26 Premier League season is about to start on August 16. Crystal Palace's stagnant transfer situation not only reflects the indecision in team management but is also closely related to fluctuations in ownership structure.

The club is currently plagued by complex relationships between major shareholders, including Steve Parish, John Textor, Josh Harris, David Blitzer, and other investors such as Franco, Harris, and Blitzer.

John Textor, the majority shareholder with 45% of shares and also the owner of clubs such as Lyon, Botafogo, and RWD Molenbeek, was fined by UEFA for violating multi-club ownership regulations, causing Crystal Palace to be relegated to play in the UEFA Conference League instead of the Europa League.

This instability has had a direct impact on the transfer budget, plunging the club into an uncertain future. Businessman Textor has expressed his intention to sell his shares or leave, but negotiations with other shareholders remain deadlocked, making it difficult for the club to raise funds to recruit more personnel this summer. With only 17 players training with the first team in preparation for the new season, Crystal Palace are at risk of falling into a serious crisis.