Chinese fans happy to 'avoid' U23 Vietnam; Chelsea wins big

Chinese fans happy when their team "avoided" U23 Vietnam

After the organizers of the Dubai Cup 2022 changed some matches, many Chinese fans were very happy when their team avoided U23 Vietnam.

According to the original schedule,U23 Vietnamwill meet U23 Iraq and U23 China in the 2022 Dubai Cup. However, on March 4, the tournament organizers suddenly changed some matches.

Specifically, instead of meeting Iraq and China as previously drawn, U23 Vietnam will face U23 Iraq and Croatia on March 23 and 26 respectively. Meanwhile, U23 China will face host UAE and Thailand respectively.

Chinese fans were very happy when their team avoided U23 Vietnam.

This scenario made Chinese fans very happy after their team "avoided" U23 Vietnam.

According to Sohu newspaper, quoting some comments from home fans:

- "I'm sure that U23 China was scared when meeting U23 Vietnam so they asked for a reschedule."

-"U23 China will avoid the scenario of losing to U23 Vietnam. But meeting U23 Thailand is equally difficult."

-"Congratulations to U23 China for avoiding U23 Vietnam!".

-"The Chinese team once lost 1-5 to Thailand. This time when the two teams meet, it is very likely that U23 China will lose again."

- "If U23 China continues to lose to Thailand, it will be a real disaster."

- "We will learn a lot from our opponents in this tournament".

Chelsea explodes before parting ways with Abramovich

On the day of farewell to chairman Roman Abramovich, Chelsea defeated Burnley with a score of 4-0.

In round 28 of the Premier League, Chelsea visited Burnley at Turf Moor. Before the match, Chelsea fans chanted the name of chairman Roman Abramovich after the Russian billionaire decided to sell Chelsea due to pressure from the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Chelsea had a very deadlocked first half despite only playing against Burnley, who were in the relegation zone. It wasn't until the 15th minute that Chelsea had their first shot, and the player who shot the ball the most for Chelsea in the first 45 minutes was centre-back Rudiger.

Chelsea won a great victory over Burnley. PHOTO: DAILY MAIL

Home side Burnley had 2 great chances to score the opening goal but unfortunately missed both. First, Weghorst's shot in the penalty area was cleared by Silva right on the goal line, then McNeil shot the ball over the bar in front of an empty goal. The first half ended with a score of 0-0.

If Chelsea played poorly and deadlocked in the first half, they played explosively in the second half. In just the first 10 minutes of the second half, Tuchel's team scored 3 times against the home team Burnley.

In the 47th minute, James handled the ball delicately in the Burnley penalty area and then shot accurately across the corner to open the score 1-0 for Chelsea. 5 minutes later, Pulisic crossed the ball as if setting it up for Kai Havertz to head it close to the goal, leaving goalkeeper Nick Pope just standing there watching the ball go into the net. 2-0 for Chelsea.

In the 55th minute, from James' cross, Kai Havertz missed his chance but still managed to use his foot to push the ball into the empty net, scoring his double in the match and raising the score to 3-0 for Chelsea.

In the 69th minute, Pulisic took advantage of a mistake by Burnley's defense to easily shoot the ball into the net from close range to seal a 3-0 victory for Chelsea. With a magnificent 3-0 victory, Chelsea maintained their 3rd place in the Premier League with 53 points after 26 matches.

Liverpool breathes hot air on Man City's top spot

Coach Jurgen Klopp's team defeated West Ham 1-0 in the 28th round of the Premier League in the early morning of March 6 (Hanoi time). They are now only 3 points behind Man City. With home field advantage, Liverpool dominated West Ham. Many opportunities were created by the home team but only Sadio Mane converted them into goals. In the 27th minute, Trent Alexander-Arnold passed the entire West Ham defense so that his Senegalese teammate could rush in and score from close range. This was also the moment that brought the 12th consecutive victory in all competitions for "The Kop".

Liverpool beat West Ham 1-0 to close in on Man City's top spot. PHOTO: DAILY MAIL

Mane has scored his 12th Premier League goal this season while Alexander-Arnold has assisted his 11th. In all competitions, the England international has made a total of 16 assists, equalling the personal record of legendary Steven Gerrard in the 2004/05, 2005/06, 2007/08 seasons (all with 16 assists). This statistic is even more impressive given that Alexander-Arnold is a full-back. He still has more than 2 months to surpass his predecessor.

The home win helped Liverpool narrow the gap with Man City to 3 points (63 vs 66). Coach Jurgen Klopp and his team will calmly wait for the result of the Manchester derby at Etihad.

Losing to Viettel, Saigon coach blames referee for giving heavy red card

Coach Phung Thanh Phuong said the referee was heavy-handed when he gave a red card to a Saigon player.

Saigon FC lost 0-2 to Viettel at Hang Day Stadium in round 3 of Night Wolf V.League 2022 last night, March 5. Both goals conceded by the away team came in the second half, a period when they were down to 10 men due to Huynh Tan Tai being sent off.

"Today, we played very well. The penalty changed the game completely. We conceded a goal and were short of players, leading to the second goal," said coach Phung Thanh Phuong.

Saigon's head coach said the referee was heavy-handed in this decision. The away team's coaching staff also reacted to the situation on the field. In addition, according to coach Phung Thanh Phuong, Viettel should have received a red card.

Coach Phung Thanh Phuong. Photo: Dac Huy

"We think the referee was a bit heavy-handed," said coach Phung Thanh Phuong.

"The red card is unfortunate. If that situation had not happened, the result would have been different. At the beginning of the second half, Viettel's player number 11 committed a foul but the referee ignored it and did not give a second card. I think if there had been a red card in that situation, the game would have been different."

Assistant coach Bae Ji-won, who replaced coach Truong Viet Hoang (who is in quarantine due to COVID-19) to lead Viettel in this match, has a different opinion.

"Whichever team gets an unfavorable result, the coach will have an opinion about the referee, but we have to respect the referee's decision," the Korean coach stated his opinion.

"The red card does not completely affect the result but it does affect the game situation. However, like in the first match against Binh Dinh, we also suffered heavy-handed decisions from the referee. We have to accept it completely. This red card situation makes sense, when the Saigon defender pulled Pedro's shirt, it was a foul situation from the opposing team."

Speaking about the playing style, Coach Phung Thanh Phuong was satisfied with his players' performance in this match. Saigon played a good defensive counter-attack in the first half, but put themselves at a disadvantage after Huynh Tan Tai's foul.

"We prepared for the match, knowing there would be difficulties. Congratulations to Viettel for achieving good results. Playing away, we found a reasonable strategy and set a goal of getting 1 point in today's match. Unfortunately, we could not do that," said the head coach of Saigon.