Ngoc Hai, Nguyen Manh among top AFF Cup players; Chelsea suffers losses before 'big battle'

Que Ngoc Hai and Nguyen Manh are among the best defenders and goalkeepers of AFF Cup 2020.

Que Ngoc Hai, along with Pratama Arhan, Asnawi Mangkualam (Indonesia), Safuwan Baharudin (Singapore), Theerathon Bunmathan, Krisada Kaman and Narubadin Weerawatnodom (Thailand) are the defensive players with the best performances at the AFF Cup 2020.

AFF Cup homepage writes aboutQue Ngoc Hai: "There are 4 options for the central defender position of the Vietnam team and each of them started 5 matches so it is difficult to find out who is the most outstanding, but Que Ngoc Hai is a bit better. Not only is he able to keep the ball firmly and choose a position, read the game, Que Ngoc Hai is also the player with the most interceptions and blocks".

Que Ngoc Hai is in the top 7 best defenders of AFF Cup 2020.

GoalkeeperTran Nguyen Manhalso ranked in the top 5 best goalkeepers in the tournament, according to the organizers' choice. This was a memorable AFF Cup for the Viettel Club goalkeeper when he regained his starting position in the Vietnam national team for the first time since the second leg of the AFF Cup 2016 semi-final - an unforgettable memory with a red card in the match that eliminated his team.

In a tournament where the Vietnamese defense did not allow the opponent many chances, Nguyen Manh also showed his talent a few times. His most notable mark was the penalty save in the first leg of the semi-final.

"Playing behind a solid defence, the 30-year-old goalkeeper did not have as much work as the others on the list of the best goalkeepers in the tournament, but he still showed his solidity when needed with 8 saves and 5 clean sheets. Chanathip Songakrasin was the only player to score against the Vietnamese goalkeeper in this tournament, but also had a penalty saved," the AFF Cup homepage wrote about Nguyen Manh.

Ronaldo scored and assisted in MU's 3-1 win

Man United did not have much difficulty defeating Burnley at home in round 20 of the Premier League in the early morning of December 31 (Hanoi time).

Ronaldo continues to score for MU. Photo: Reuters

For the first time since Ralf Rangnick took charge, Man United scored more than 1 goal in a Premier League match. Scott McTominay, Jadon Sancho, Cristiano Ronaldo shined to help the "Red Devils" lead 3-0 after 35 minutes. What Burnley only did was shorten the gap through Aaron Lennon in the 38th minute.

MU celebrated Sir Alex Ferguson's birthday early with a convincing victory. The 3 points at Old Trafford helped the red half of Manchester rise to 6th place with 31 points, 4 points behind 4th place Arsenal and 1 match left to play.

Viettel Club says goodbye to 2 former national players

The 2020 V.League champion team announced farewell to two players who used to play for the national team, Vu Minh Tuan and Nguyen Viet Phong.

Nguyen Viet Phong grew up in the youth training center of this team. The striker born in 1993 joined Hai Phong Club from the 2015 season and had a season playing for Can Tho Club. Before V.League 2019, Viet Phong returned to his "old home" and was the first rookie of Viettel Club.

After 3 years playing for this team, Viet Phong has played 17 times. In the season Viettel won the V.League championship, the Hanoi player played 4 matches, contributing 2 goals.

In his first season back at his old team, he played 11 matches and impressed coach Park Hang-seo and was called up to the Vietnam national team, preparing for 2 matches against Malaysia and Indonesia in the second qualifying round of the World Cup in Asia. He came on as a substitute in both matches, playing 26 minutes on the field.

Vu Minh Tuan leaves Viettel Club after 3 years. Photo: Viet Hung

At the same time Viet Phong returned, Viettel Club also announced a contract that was considered a blockbuster at that time named Vu Minh Tuan. The player from Quang Ninh agreed to pay compensation for 1 year of his contract with Thanh Hoa Club to join the army team.

Although he was highly expected to play for Viettel Club, Vu Minh Tuan could not regain his form like when he played for his hometown team. Tuan "Dop" used to be a top striker in V.League as well as the national teams.

One of his most memorable goals was the one he scored against Indonesia in the second leg of the AFF Cup 2016 semi-finals. In the extra minutes of the match, when the Vietnamese team had to play with one less player and were being held to a draw by the opponent, Minh Tuan made My Dinh Stadium explode with emotion by scoring a goal against the opponent, after handling the ball with high class in the penalty area.

After parting ways with Viettel Club, Vu Minh Tuan and Nguyen Viet Phong will soon have new destinations. Most likely, Viet Phong will move to the South, while his senior will join a team in the North.

Chelsea suffers big loss before "big battle" with Liverpool

After a disappointing draw against Brighton, Chelsea received more bad news about their squad, especially as they are preparing for an extremely important match against Liverpool soon.

Accordingly, after being held to a draw by Brighton, Chelsea also lost defender Reece James due to a hamstring injury. Coach Thomas Tuchel himself confirmed that the English full-back had a problem and would be out for a while.

Reece James is Chelsea's latest injury.

“It’s a hamstring injury. We have to think about the game against Liverpool. I’m trying to find replacements. We don’t have any full-backs anymore. Everyone is injured,” Tuchel said.

So, Chelsea currently no longer has any true full-backs in the squad, previously Ben Chilwell was also injured and had to miss the match.

Chelsea are currently showing signs of losing steam in the Premier League title race after a series of draws in recent times, while their direct competitors are still maintaining their winning streak.