Nguyen Xuan Son was right to refuse more than 75 billion VND; Barca was the luckiest in the Champions League draw
There are many reasons why Xuan Son's refusal to go to Saudi Arabia is completely reasonable; Barcelona will meet the winner of the Dortmund and Lille match... Those are the outstanding sports news in the past 24 hours.
Van Tung scored after 20 seconds on the field
Young striker Nguyen Van Tung entered the field in the 90+10 minute and immediately scored the winning goal for Hanoi FC in a 3-0 victory over HAGL at Pleiku Stadium on the afternoon of February 21.
In his 9th appearance for Hanoi in the V.League this season, Nguyen Van Tung scored a goal of his life. Just 20 seconds after being brought in from the bench in the 90+10 minute, Van Tung sprinted from midfield straight into the penalty area to receive a cross from Truong Van Thai Quy, heading the ball to seal a 3-0 victory for the home team.
A few minutes earlier, in the 90+8 minute, Hanoi FC had just increased the score to 2-0 thanks to Joao Pedro from the penalty spot. The first goal of the away team was scored in a similar way in the 70th minute by Kula Bobicanec.
Under the leadership of new coach Makoto Teguramori, Hanoi had an unexpected response to rise to the top 3. With 23 points, 1 and 2 points ahead of the 2 teams above, respectively, the capital team is excited to return to the V.League championship race this season.
Next match, Hanoi Club will meet Da Nang on March 2.
Nguyen Xuan Son was right to refuse more than 75 billion VND.
There are many reasons why Xuan Son refused the invitation to Saudi Arabia. He changed his life thanks to this decision, because if he moved to play for a Saudi Arabian club,Xuan Soncould have missed the AFF Cup 2024 and could not have won the championship with the Vietnamese team.
“We received an offer of over 3 million USD, but the President refused. He wanted to keep Nguyen Xuan Son to contribute to the Nam Dinh Green Steel Club and then obtain Vietnamese citizenship to serve the Vietnamese national team when needed,” said Nam Dinh Club CEO Nguyen Quoc Phong about a Saudi Arabian team asking to buy Xuan Son for over 3 million USD (over 75 billion VND).
Barca luckiest in Champions League draw
The Champions League draw took place on the evening of February 21, with the matches determined until the final. Barcelona will meet Benfica again in the round of 16. In the qualifying stage, the Catalan representative defeated their opponent with a score of 5-4. If they overcome the Portuguese representative, Barcelona will meet the winner of the Dortmund and Lille match.
These are two opponents that are rated much lower than coach Hansi Flick's team. If they pass the quarter-finals, potential opponents waiting for Barca in the semi-finals could be Bayern Munich, who will face Leverkusen, or Inter Milan, who will face Feyenoord.
These are all opponents of equal strength or rated lower than Barca. Bayern are the most difficult opponents, but Barca convincingly defeated the German club in the qualifying stage earlier this season.
Compared to the remaining bracket, where other top candidates such as Liverpool, PSG, Real Madrid or Arsenal are present, Barca falls into a much easier bracket.
Man United's road to the Europa League final
Manchester United could reunite with former UEFA Europa League winning manager Jose Mourinho on their way to the final of this year's competition, with the knockout stages now set following the round of 16 draw.
Amorim's side face Real Sociedad in the last 16 of the Europa League, after the Spanish side beat Midtjylland 7-3 on aggregate in the play-offs. However, Real Sociedad have been in poor form domestically, and Man United will be looking to take advantage, as a win would open the door for a quarter-final against FCSB or Lyon.
The semi-final could provide a particularly intriguing encounter - if Man United progress that far.
Man United's path to the final is in the round of 16: Real Sociedad; Quarter-finals: Lyon or FCSB; Semi-finals: Fenerbahce, Rangers, Roma or Athletic Club
