Phan Van Duc's masterpiece was honored by AFC; HAGL failed, Kiatisuk was still satisfied with his students

Phan Van Duc's masterpiece was honored by AFC

Super product ofPhan Van Ducinto the Chinese national team was honored by AFC as a nominee for the vote for the most beautiful goal in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia.

Phan Van Duc's masterpiece against the Chinese national team was included in the AFC's vote for the best goal in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia. The competitor of the Vietnamese national team striker is Ajdin Hrustic (Australia) with a free kick that scored against Japan.

These two superstars will go head to head in a poll on AFC’s social media site. Fans’ votes will decide whether Phan Van Duc or Ajdin Hrustic wins.

Phan Van Duc's masterpiece was included in the AFC's vote for the best goal in the third qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup in Asia. Photo: VFF

Phan Van Duc’s spectacular long-range shot was the decisive goal in Vietnam’s 3-1 victory over China on the first day of the Lunar New Year (February 1). This was also an affirmation of the Nghe An striker’s worth, after a long period of criticism for his inconsistent performance.

Meanwhile, Ajdin Hrustic's beautiful free kick could not help Australia avoid a 1-2 defeat in Japan in October 2021. In the near future, Ajdin Hrustic will join Australia in the continental play-off against UAE and if they win, they will meet Peru for a ticket to the 2022 World Cup finals.

HAGL failed, Kiatisuk is still satisfied with his students

HAGL could not surprise Yokohama FM with the result, but coach Kiatisuk was still very satisfied with what his players showed.

At the beginning of the press conference on the evening of April 16, Coach Kiatisuk said: "HAGL has been waiting for this match for a long time. The players have implemented the right tactics. We only lost 2 goals from 2 set pieces. I am really satisfied with the way the players play."

"The opponent is very strong, Yokohama has many players with good techniques, very diverse tactics. In football, it is very difficult to train players to be able to adapt when facing a team with such a diverse playing style. Against such an opponent, it is normal for HAGL to lose.

This is the first match ofHAGLIn the AFC Champions League 2022, we don't have much information about the Japanese squad. So, we just play according to our own tactics. In the next match, we will overcome the shortcomings to have a better game," the captain of the mountain town team continued.

Coach Kiatisuk is satisfied with HAGL's performance at the continental playground.

Commenting on Van Toan's performance as well as not using midfielder Minh Vuong in this match, the Thai coach explained: "Van Toan played very well in this match when he moved a lot, causing many difficulties for the Yokohama defenders. It's a pity that Van Toan hasn't been able to play regularly in the Vietnam national team recently, so I created conditions for him to play the full 90 minutes to regain his feeling. In Minh Vuong's case, it's a tactic. In each match here, we are allowed to use 4 foreign players, so I prioritize using Brandao."

"Last year HAGL played well with the 3-5-2 formation. This year I will continue to use it and promote it when the players understand the game plan. When facing a strong opponent like Yokohama, I will prioritize using the formation that played well last year" - Coach Kiatisuk concluded.

Ronaldo sets many new records in the Premier League

The 37-year-old superstar conquered another record after his hat-trick against Norwich in round 33 of the Premier League on the night of April 16 (Hanoi time).

In the 76th minute, when the score was 2-2, Cristiano Ronaldo took the task of taking a free kick. The 37-year-old striker hit the ball with his instep, hitting the post and going into the net, much to the astonishment of Norwich's defense. For the first time since September 2020, fans have witnessed the Portuguese striker score from a free kick.

The Portuguese captain asked referee Madley for the ball to celebrate his hat-trick. He had previously done the same thing against Tottenham in round 29 of the Premier League.

Ronaldo set a Premier League record by becoming the first player over 36 to score 15 goals in a season. In all competitions, the 37-year-old superstar has scored a total of 21 goals for the "Red Devils" (15 goals in the Premier League, 6 goals in the Champions League).

CR7 completed his hat-trick to help Man United win 3-2. The 37-year-old striker had his 60th hat-trick in his career, a record that no active player can reach. In addition, this was also the 58th successful free-kick goal in the career of the former Juventus star. Not stopping there, the Portuguese international also created an impressive statistic of scoring 21 goals or more in 16 consecutive seasons (2006/07 to present). This is an achievement that even Lionel Messi cannot achieve.

Losing the third consecutive match, Arsenal gives MU the 5th position

Unexpected developments happened in the match between Southampton and Arsenal when the Gunners lost 0-1. This was Arsenal's third consecutive loss and caused them to drop to 6th place.

Before the match against Southampton, Arsenal had lost 3 of their last 4 matches. The Gunners were obviously keen to end this disappointing run to keep their hopes of finishing in the top 4 alive.

Before taking the field, Arsenal also received more good news when Tottenham just lost shockingly to Brighton with a score of 0-1 in the earliest match of round 33. Thus, if they win, Arsenal can equalize points with their opponent and still play 1 less match.

However, Arsenal's attacking play was lackluster in the first half of the match. The visitors' best chance was missed by Bukayo Saka when the English midfielder finished close range from a pass from Grabiel Martinelli in the 17th minute but could not beat goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

Southampton played with great resilience and their reward came late in the first half when Elyounoussi's well-timed pass from the left wing found Jan Bednarek, who fired the ball into the net off Aaron Ramsdale's hand to open the scoring for the home side.

Southampton won 1-0 against Arsenal.

In the second half, Arsenal attacked like a storm. However, the finishing of the away team's players lacked the necessary precision.

The Gunners controlled the ball up to 76% and launched 23 shots but only 6 were on target and 0 goals. Meanwhile, Southampton showed amazing efficiency when launching only 9 shots with 3 on target but still got 1 valuable goal.

The final result of the Southampton vs Arsenal match was 1-0 in favor of the home team. This defeat makes it difficult for Arsenal in the race for the top 4. They have now dropped to 6th place in the rankings, equal on points with MU but behind on goal difference. Although the Gunners still have 1 match left to play, if they do not regain their form soon, the dream of participating in the Champions League next season will be very far away.

Line-up:

Southampton:Forster, Lyanco, Perraud, Bednarek, Walker-Peters, S. Armstrong (Redmond 82'), Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Elyounoussi (Livramento 90'), Valery, Broja (Long 74')

Arsenal:Ramsdale, Cedric (Smith Rowe 60'), White, Gabriel, Tavares (Pepe 70'), Xhaka, Lokonga, Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli, Nketiah

Goal: Bednarek (44')