Malaysia calls up 38 players to wait for the match against Vietnam; Yamal scores a super goal, Barcelona wins La Liga

Yamal scores a super goal, Barcelona wins La Liga

On the morning of May 16, Barca defeated Espanyol 2-0 to become the new champion of the Spanish national championship for the 2024/25 season.

Barcelona officially won the La Liga championship for the 28th time in history after a convincing victory at Espanyol's RCD home ground. The gap between coach Hansi Flick and Real Madrid is now 7 points, while there are only 2 rounds left in the season.

Robert Lewandowski had a chance to open the scoring in the 12th minute, while for the home side, Javi Puado missed a regrettable one-on-one situation. Wojciech Szczesny had a solid day, with a brave run out in the 25th minute to keep the net clean.

After the break, Barcelona brought on Alejandro Balde, who brought a breath of fresh air to the game. Just 7 minutes later, Lamine Yamal sent the few Barca fans into a frenzy with a superb curling strike from outside the box, opening the scoring for the visitors. From then on, Barca played with excitement and completely dominated. In stoppage time, Fermin Lopez sealed the 2-0 victory after a smooth combination.

This is Barcelona's 16th consecutive unbeaten match in LaLiga (14 wins, 2 draws), marking their most impressive run of form in the tournament since the 2020/21 season. Yamal and his teammates also completed the domestic treble with La Liga, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup. Notably, Real Madrid became Barca's loser in all three arenas mentioned above.

Meanwhile, Espanyol continue to struggle in the relegation race. With two games remaining, the team still needs at least 1 point to secure a place in La Liga next season.

Malaysia calls up to 38 players to wait for the match against Vietnam

May 15,Malaysia teamannounced the list of 38 players, aiming for the important match against the Vietnam National Team in the final qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup on June 10.

Up to 14 players on the list come from Johor Darul Ta'zim - the team that just won the Malaysian national championship for the 11th consecutive time. Previously, at the ASEAN Cup 2024, this team did not "release" players, causing Malaysia to not show its inherent strength and was eliminated from the group stage.

In the 38-player squad, coach Peter Cklamovski gave the opportunity to 6 U23 players to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games. 4 players who are playing abroad were called up, including Dion Cools, Endrick dos Santos, Gabriel Palmero and Hector Hevel. Of which, Endrick is playing for Ho Chi Minh City Club in Vietnam.

The Malaysian team will gather from May 18. The group of players currently playing abroad will gather later. Mr. Peter Cklamovski revealed that the training session will be divided into 3 phases to gradually screen the personnel, from 38 to 23 official players.

Tottenham lose key player before Europa League final with MU

Dejan Kulusevski will miss next week's Europa League final after undergoing knee surgery, leaving Tottenham in a midfield crisis.

The Swede limped off the pitch in the 19th minute of last weekend's 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace after a collision with Marc Guehi. Kulusevski was forced to undergo surgery yesterday and will definitely miss the crucial clash with MU in Bilbao on the night of May 21. This leaves coach Ange Postecoglou without three of his most creative midfielders: Lucas Bergvall, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison.

19-year-old Bergvall suffered ankle ligament damage late last month, while James Maddison is also out for three months with a knee injury.

Currently, the Australian coach has 4 healthy central midfielders: Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, Pape Sarr and Archie Gray, for 3 positions in the middle of the field.

Postecoglou will provide an update on Kulusevski at his press conference today, but there are fears the 28-year-old will miss the start of next season.

Free tickets to Hang Day Stadium to watch Vietnam women's team play Werder Bremen

7:00 p.m. on May 16, at Hang Day Stadium,DVietnam women's teamwill host Werder Bremen Women's Club (Germany) in an international friendly match to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Germany.

Speaking before the match, coach Mai Duc Chung highly appreciated the German women's football representative, but said that the home team will enter the match with determination and the highest effort.

"The Vietnamese women's team's main goal is to learn, but they will enter the competition with a high spirit of determination. In this training session, there are many new young players joining the team, serving the rejuvenation plan. I will arrange veterans and rookies in harmony so that young players have the opportunity to get acquainted and adapt," said the head coach of the Vietnamese women's team.

The organizers said that in this match, the Vietnamese women's team will take the field in their traditional uniforms, while Werder Bremen will appear in their familiar green uniforms. The two teams are allowed to make a maximum of 5 substitutions, with no limit on the number of substitutes.

In particular, the match will be open to the public to create the best conditions for fans to come to the stadium to cheer for the two teams.

Fans who cannot go directly to Hang Day Stadium can watch the match live on FPT Play, VFF Channel youtube channel and VFF Fanpage.

Controversial Thai referee returns to V.League

The match between Da Nang and Quang Nam in round 23 of V.League 2024-2025 will be officiated by foreign referees.

In round 23 of V.League 2024/2025, Da Nang Club will face Quang Nam. The match taking place on the afternoon of May 17 at Hoa Xuan Stadium is of great significance for Da Nang in the relegation battle. The tournament organizers decided to invite two Thai referees to officiate in this match.

Specifically, Mr. Songkran Bunmeekiart and Torphong Somsing will share the two positions of main referee and VAR room manager. Both of them are FIFA referees. In particular, Mr. Songkran Bunmeekiart is not a strange name to Vietnamese football. This referee has worked twice in the V.League in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

Notably, in both matches officiated in V.League, the "black shirt king" born in 1990 caused controversy and one of them involved Da Nang Club. In the match at Thong Nhat Stadium, round 24 of V.League 2022, Mr. Songkran Bunmeekiart awarded Ho Chi Minh City Club a penalty, causing protests from Da Nang players and coaches.

In the matches in the second leg of V.League 2024/2025, VPF invited a number of foreign referees to officiate in important matches in the championship and relegation race. The foreign referees still made controversial decisions./.