Ending the 'honeymoon', Coach Popov focuses on the National Cup

The Cong Viettel 's chance of winning the championship is almost gone - Photo: TCVT .

Having started like a dream with a 6-0 victory over Da Nang in round 21, coach Velizar Popov received a lot of expectations to help The Cong Viettel compete for the championship on an equal footing with Hanoi and Nam Dinh. However, that "honeymoon" soon ended when the army team lost 1-2 to HAGL in round 22 on the afternoon of May 11.

With this defeat, The Cong Viettel is stuck in 3rd place with 36 points. They are 9 points behind the top team Nam Dinh while there are only 4 rounds left in the season. In theory, the opportunity is not completely closed, but in reality, they have almost no chance of competing for the championship if they do not win all the remaining matches and hope that the two teams above them will stumble in a series.

The hope of The Cong Viettel is now only the National Cup. But their challenge in the semi-finals is CAHN. Coach Mano Polking's team also aims to win the championship in this arena. Against an opponent with great depth and the highest goal, overcoming them is not simple.

In the past two matches, The Cong Viettel showed good fighting spirit, team organization and tactical changes have been significantly improved. However, to reach the title, they need more than that.

Coach Popov and his team aim for the National Cup - Photo: TCVT.

In the match against HAGL, The Cong Viettel had a ball possession rate of up to 71.2%, launched 21 shots, of which only 8 were on target. In contrast, HAGL only had 8 shots but scored 2 goals, much more effective than the away team. Therefore, the ability to take advantage of opportunities and finish is the problem that Coach Popov needs to solve if he wants to defeat CAHN to advance to the final match of the National Cup.

In addition, Coach Popov also needs more time to "wash away" the weaknesses that existed under Coach Nguyen Duc Thang, especially the ability to turn the game around when losing. The match against HAGL was a typical example of The Cong Viettel's confusion when they were in the lead. Although they controlled the ball more, the army team let their opponents lead most of the time and only managed to shorten the score in the 72nd minute thanks to Pedro's goal.

The “honeymoon” between Coach Popov and The Cong Viettel lasted only one match. And now is the time for the Bulgarian strategist to prove his true worth, not only through fancy playing style, but also through actual victories. There is still a chance in the National Cup, which is where Coach Popov once made a miracle with Thanh Hoa. But to recreate that at The Cong Viettel, he needs to improve his finishing immediately. This is what is causing the team to lose important points in the long-term race.

Source: https://znews.vn/ket-thuc-tuan-trang-mat-hlv-popov-don-suc-cho-cup-quoc-gia-post1552590.html