Coach Bae Ji-won: 'Unjust results with Viettel'

"We have launched the best squad, with the consensus from the coaching committee. Each match, Viettel is aiming to the best results, regardless of the tournament. Today, with the efforts of the player's players , I feel that the results are not worthy and unfair to the whole team, "coach Bae said after Viettel lost 5-6 in the penalty shootout on Thong Nhat Stadium.

Viettel has no good form, when losing four of the last six matches in the V-League 2022. Therefore, returning to the AFC Cup arena is considered an opportunity for them to revive the spirit. In the group stage more than a month ago, they won, scored 11 goals and conceded only one goal. Kuala Lumpur City is also not a difficult opponent to play, in the semi -finals as an excellent second team.

But the representative of Vietnam does not promote the advantage. Despite controlling the game, organizing continuous attacks, Bae's team could not score. Even if the crossbar or goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh did not show his ability to save, the representative of Malaysia had ended the match early. In the penalty shootout, Danh Trung and Duy often failed, causing Viettel to receive failure.

In the opposite direction, coach Bojan Hodak gave many compliments to the players and the affirmation of Kuala Lumpur City did not eat. "Before the match, I judged Viettel as one of the strongest teams in the region. In fact, this is a difficult match but we deserve to win after the players' efforts," he said.

Coach Hodak appreciated the goalkeeper Azri, the hero of Kuala Lumpur City when he blocked Duy Thuong Saturday's penalty shootout. The leader also confirmed that his team had carefully prepared for the penalty shootout, besides the good spirit of the player. "The results are encouraging so we can go further at the AFC Cup," he said.

Kuala Lumpur City will meet PSM Makassar in the final of Southeast Asia in the AFC Cup 2022.