Lee Nguyễn (right) failed to perform under pressure from HAGL’s Lương Xuân Trường . Photo sport5.vn

HÀ NỘI — Hoàng Anh Gia Lai (HAGL)’s coach Kiatisuk Senamuang has praised club captain Lương Xuân Trường after marking HCM City FC star Lee Nguyễn out of Sunday's 3-0 win for HAGL.

The home side were rampant at the Pleiku Stadium, with goals from Nguyễn Công Phượng, Nguyễn Văn Toàn and Trần Minh Vương cementing HAGL's place at the top of the V.League 1 table and condemning HCM City to their fourth loss in six matches.

Nguyễn's return to face his former club was forgettable as the 34-year-old missed a good chance at the end of the first half before being injured and substituted in the 59th minute.

Before leaving the pitch, Nguyễn struggled to escape the attentions of Trường, who seems to have recaptured his best form under Senamuang.

After the match, the HAGL coach said his side were lucky City had to substitute the injured Nguyễn.

"Lee is a really good player, he is the key player in HCM City’s tactics. HAGL were lucky that Lee was injured and had to leave the pitch early,” said the Thai manager.

“I assigned Xuân Trường to mark Lee Nguyễn because they have the same playing style and their positions were close to each other during the match. But Xuân Trường is younger and has better stamina, that’s why he managed to stop his senior.

“In the past, when Lee was younger, things wouldn't be as easy as it is now,” he added.

Though HAGL remain top of the table, Senamuang is refusing to let his players get ahead of themselves.

“During the half-time break, I told the team that we will have a really tight schedule ahead so we need to make the most of our chances to get the best results,” Senamuang said

“The road ahead is still long so to win it, we have to take every chance we got, even the smallest opportunity."

"We must be carefully prepared for everything,” the 47-year-old Thai coach added.

After six matches, HAGL lead the V.League 1 with 13 points. In the next match, they will travel to the Lạch Tray stadium to face fourth-placed Hải Phòng FC. VNS