Viettel slump to 1-0 defeat against AFC defending champions Ulsan Hyundai
VOV.VN - Vietnam’s V-League winners Viettel FC suffered an unfortunate 1-0 loss to defending champions Ulsan Hyundai of the Republic of Korea in their opening 2021 AFC Champions League Group F match on June 26.
Without stars Trong Hoang and Ngoc Hai in the line-up, Viettel still performed well in the first half, keeping up with the pace of the K League club. Meanwhile, the RoK representatives possessed the ball most of the time, but could not break up their rivals’ defense line in the first 45 minutes.
In the second half, the K League team sent in two more foreign players and veteran midfielder Lee Chung Yong, but they could not make it difficult for Viettel’s defense.
Ulsan Hyundai broke the deadlock when the match went into extra time. From a corner pass, striker Hinterseer put pressure on national player Nguyen Thanh Binh who kicked his own goal, earning Ulsan Hyundai three points.
Viettel FC’s coach Jurgen Gede expressed his regret that his players lost in the extra time in their first ever game of the AFC Champions League and said they had learnt a lesson from the game.
Viettel players are in Thailand for the group matches of the 2021 AFC Champions League.
After losing 1-0 to Ulsan Hyundai in the opener, Viettel are scheduled to take on Sanghai Port or Kaya FC on June 29 and Thai League champions BG Pathum on July 2.