Prime Minister's congratulatory letter to U23 Vietnam; AC Milan wins Serie A after 11 years

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent a congratulatory letter to the Vietnam U23 Team.

Present at the My Dinh Stadium stands to witness the entire SEA Games 31 men's football final as well as going down to the field to share joy with the Vietnam U23 team after the victory, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent a congratulatory letter to coach Park Hang-seo and his team.

In the letter, the head of the Government wrote with utmost sincerity: "On the evening of May 22, we witnessed wonderful moments when the national U23 men's football team successfully defended the gold medal at theSEA Games 31. Every citizen was filled with special emotions from their hearts when millions of fans carried the national flag, creating a "forest" of red flags with yellow stars across the country and chanted the slogan "Vietnam is the champion". The efforts, intelligence, bravery, resilience, solidarity, discipline, and dedication to the flag and the colors of the country brought the team victory. It was the victory of the spirit of Vietnamese solidarity and convergence.

The Prime Minister, the President, the National Assembly Chairman and other leaders congratulated the National U23 Team.

Today's outstanding achievements, along with the gold medal of the women's football team and the achievements of the sports competitions at the 31st SEA Games, have affirmed the position of Vietnamese football in particular, Vietnamese sports in general in the region and gradually reaching the world level. The Party and the State will continue to pay more attention and hope that organizations, individuals, and the business community will continue to support and advocate for the development of the country's sports in general and elite sports in particular.

In the joy of victory today, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the fans nationwide who have always accompanied the two men's and women's football teams. Special thanks to the coaches and the coaching staff who have devoted all their heart and mind, overcoming difficulties to lead the team to victory. I request the Central Emulation and Rewards Committee, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and relevant agencies, ministries and branches to promptly propose appropriate forms of rewards to the players, coaches of the teams and outstanding collectives and individuals in other sports competitions and we will organize the award ceremony right after the end of the 31st SEA Games.

Once again, I send my warmest congratulations, wishes for health and happiness to Head Coach Park Hang-seo, the Coaching Board and the National Team.U23 Vietnam. I think that, although the football matches have ended, we all still want to shout the slogans "Vietnam is wonderful", "Vietnam is the champion", "Vietnam wins".

Thai newspaper: "The defeat of U23 Vietnam devastated the War Elephants"

Thai press expressed sadness when the home team lost to U23 Vietnam in the final match of SEA Games 31. However, the media in the land of golden pagodas also praised coach Park Hang-seo and his team.

Heroic moment of Nham Manh Dung. Photo: Thuan Thang.

On its homepage, Siam Sport newspaper ran the headline: “The War Elephants Are Heartbroken”. In addition to analyzing the formation and tactics that coach Mano Polking applied, the reporter of this article emphasized: “The match at My Dinh Stadium had 40,000 spectators. Nham Manh Dung’s goal in the 83rd minute helped Vietnam defeat Thailand. This victory shattered the “War Elephants” because the Thai men’s and women’s football teams only finished second in the 31st SEA Games. This match extinguished the golden dream of Thai football”.

The Thai Daily News seemed to have predicted this before the match with historical statistics. Accordingly, every time they lost their first match at the SEA Games, the Thai team had never won the championship in 30 of these events. But after the achievements at the AFF Cup 2020 and under the leadership of coach Polking, the Thai press expected the U23 team to open a new page in history. However, the young "War Elephants" could not do this against the bravery of the host U23 Vietnam and the reasonable tactics of coach Park Hang-seo.

Man City won the Premier League spectacularly, MU escaped danger

Manchester City won the Premier League in a spectacular comeback in 5 minutes to beat Aston Villa 3-2 from 0-2 down, while Manchester United had a spectacular escape despite losing 0-1 to Crystal Palace.

Last night and early this morning (May 23), the final round of the Premier League took place across England.

The thing that fans are most interested in is the Premier League title race between Manchester City and Liverpool when the two teams are only 1 point apart. Thanks to the 1 point advantage, Man City entered the match against Aston Villa with the mission of only needing to win at home at Etihad Stadium to be crowned Premier League champions for the 4th time in the past 5 seasons. However, 2 goals from Cash (minute 37) and Coutinho (69) helped Aston Villa take a 2-0 lead, making Man City live in fear. At this time, Liverpool is drawing 1-1 with Wolves and only needs 1 goal for Klopp's team to dethrone Man City from the top of the table, while Man City wants to reclaim the top spot by scoring 3 goals in the remaining 20 minutes.

Captain Fernandinho and Man City players lift the Premier League trophy. Photo: REUTERS

And that unbelievable thing was done by Man City players in just 5 minutes from minute 76 to 81. Gundogan scored the first goal and the goal to make it 3-2, while Rodri scored the equalizer 2-2.

This victory ensured Manchester City won the Premier League, despite Liverpool also beating Wolves 3-1 thanks to two late goals from Salah (84') and Robertson (89').

Meanwhile, Arsenal, despite beating Everton 5-1, had to watch their Champions League ticket fall into Tottenham's hands, as Conte's team also beat Norwich 5-0.

Manchester United also secured a place in the Europa League despite losing 0-1 to Crystal Palace. Before the final round, West Ham and MU competed for a place in the Europa League with a gap of only 2 points (MU 58 points, West Ham 56 points).

After the first half ended, West Ham led Brighton 1-0, while MU lost 0-1 to Crystal Palace. At this time, West Ham surpassed MU to win a place in the Europa League next season.

In the second half, West Ham lost 1-3 to Brighton, while MU still lost 0-1 to Crystal Palace when the final whistle blew. This means that despite losing to Crystal Palace, MU still kept their ticket to the Europa League next season.

AC Milan won Serie A after 11 years

AC Milan overcame rivals Inter Milan in the final round to win Serie A after 11 years of waiting.

Before round 38 of Serie A, AC Milan was leading the table with a gap of 2 points over Inter Milan. Just need to win the final match of the season against Sassuolo, AC Milan will be guaranteed to win the scudetto for the 19th time in the club's history and the first time in 11 years. When Giroud put the ball into the home team Sassuolo's net in the 17th minute, the Serie A championship of coach Stefano Pioli's team was within reach. Giroud continued to score the second goal for AC Milan in the 32nd minute, and then 4 minutes later, Kessie scored the third goal before halftime. At this point, no one doubted AC Milan's 2021-2022 Serie A championship and no one cared about the result of the match at the same time between Inter Milan and Sampdoria at the legendary San Siro stadium.

AC Milan received the Serie A trophy. Photo: GETTY

After half-time, it was party time in Emilia-Romagna with thousands of AC Milan fans who had bought tickets to Sassuolo cheering on their team. They celebrated throughout the first half as their beloved team never looked in danger of losing the scudetto to city rivals Inter Milan.

Veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic thought he could have sealed the game when he came on late from the bench, but the Swede's header was ruled out for offside.

But it didn't matter, the AC Milan celebrations were still going strong. Even coach Pioli, who after 19 years as a coach finally lifted his first Serie A trophy, joined the fans in singing "Piolo's on fire" in the final minutes of the match.

And when the final whistle blew, AC Milan players and fans began to celebrate wildly. They had waited so long to be crowned Serie A champions again. AC Milan finished the season 2 points ahead of second-placed Inter Milan, who also had a meaningless 3-0 win over Sampdoria.