'Thanh Hoa team doesn't have Messi or Ronaldo so they have to play as a team'

On the afternoon of May 28, Thanh Hoa team welcomed Viettel team in round 9 of V-League 2023. Before the match took place, Thanh Hoa team was leading the rankings with an unbeaten record since the beginning of the season.

It's been a long time since Thanh Hoa stadium had so many spectators.

The match took place at 6 p.m., the weather was quite cool, and it was on the weekend so a lot of people came to watch live. This was the match with the most spectators coming to Thanh Hoa Stadium to watch since the beginning of the 2023 season.

As usual, after the opening whistle, coach Popov of Thanh Hoa team immediately urged his students to proactively enter the game and deploy a close-range approach.

Home field advantage and thousands of fans in the stadium helped Thanh Hoa players play with confidence. However, it was not until the 30th minute that Thanh Hoa players scored the opening goal.

But Viettel team also showed that they are not an easy team to "bully", when just 3 minutes after conceding the goal they equalized.

Viettel had a difficult match at Thanh Hoa Stadium.

Entering the second half, Viettel scored a goal to raise the score to 2-1 quite early. It was thought that Viettel would be the first team after 9 rounds to defeat Thanh Hoa, but Coach Popov's students played well in the remaining minutes and scored 2 consecutive goals to win 3-2.

After the match, Viettel coach Thach Bao Khanh said: "We deserved to win this match. Our players played well. We know Thanh Hoa plays close to the opponent's field, and set pieces are Thanh Hoa's advantage because they have tall foreign players. We will review the video and find ways to limit set pieces and counter high balls against teams with tall players. Besides, the best option is probably to defend from a distance."

When talking about the good passes of Thanh Hoa player Quoc Phuong, who assisted his teammates to score, coach Thach Bao Khanh said: "Quoc Phuong performed well when he had free kicks on our side. Our side also did not defend well on the sidelines and needs to improve. As for goalkeeper Van Phong, I am very satisfied. Phong saved many goals. Without Phong today, we would have lost even more."

Coach Thach Bao Khanh

Coach Thach Bao Khanh believes that Thanh Hoa team will compete for the V-League 2923 championship, because Thanh Hoa's strongest team is foreign players.

As for coach Popov of Thanh Hoa team, before answering the reporter's questions, he thanked all the players and fans of the Thanh Hoa team for always being there to cheer and support the club.

"Since the beginning of the season, this has been our most difficult match. Viettel has many quality players, so we faced many difficulties today. We tried to keep the ball well in every situation, and we have quality players on the bench. We are not a team of only 11 players. In all the past matches, the players who came on as substitutes often brought success to the match. Whether we drew or lost against Viettel, I was still satisfied with the fighting spirit of the players," said coach Popov.

Coach Popov

Talking about recent matches, despite winning, Thanh Hoa team has conceded many goals each match, Coach Popov said: "First of all, we have to look at the defense from above. We push high, play close, so making mistakes and conceding goals is normal. I don't think much about conceding goals, maybe 2, 3 goals in 1 match, but we can score 5, 6 goals. In football, mistakes cannot be avoided."

Regarding coach Thach Bao Khanh's comment that the Thanh Hoa team is strongest with foreign players, Mr. Popov said: "That's obvious. When I came here to lead the Thanh Hoa team, I told the club that I needed two foreign players above. However, we play as a team, not just as an individual. Because there will be no player like Ronaldo or Messi who can dribble past many players and score, so here we have to play as a team."

With this result, after 9 rounds, Thanh Hoa team continues to maintain the top position in the rankings, while Viettel is ranked 8th.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-thanh-hoa-khong-co-messi-hay-ronaldo-nen-phai-choi-dong-doi-thoi-185230528195130467.htm