Excellent performance against Manchester United, Vietnamese midfielder has been praised by fans and media

In the friendly match between Southeast Asian All-Stars on Wednesday this Wednesday, Vietnamese midfielder Nguyen Hailong did not score, but his performance has won wide praise on social media.

Although he only played for half a game, Ruan Hailong kept harassed Manchester United's defense line through running from the right to the middle, and passed backs Duogu and Hawen many times. He tried long shots several times, but only slightly off the target, especially at the beginning of the first half.

His performance quickly attracted the attention of fans and commentators.

ESPN scored him 7.5 points, the highest score among all players in the Southeast Asian All-Star team.

Manchester United fan channel The United Stand commented: "25 minutes, the best performance so far. Can we sign the All-Star No. 9? Every attack of his will cause trouble to our defense." Avineshwaran, a Malaysian reporter of the Star, wrote: "Ruan Hailong plays very confidently and easily passes every opponent."

Asian football expert Gabe Tan held the same position and said: "I'm not kidding. The Southeast Asian All-Star team plays better than Manchester United. Ruan Hailong has caused a lot of trouble to the opponent's defense on the right."

social media, fans also expressed their praise for the 24-year-old midfielder. A Facebook user quipped that he hoped to exchange Ruan Hailong for Hoylen. Both were wearing No. 9 jerseys, but Ruan Hailong performed well, while Hoylen struggled and frequently lost the ball.

German club Bremen's Facebook account in Vietnam also joined the discussion: "Hailong, please keep the phone open after the game."

Ruan Hailong trained with the Telecommunications and Sports Workers Youth Team for a long time, and then returned to the youth team in his hometown of Guangning Province. In 2022, he joined Hanoi Club and made his debut in the V League. The 1.68-meter-tall midfielder made 95 appearances in the V League, scoring 14 goals, scoring two goals for Vietnam in last year's ASEAN Cup, including a long shot in the second leg of the final.

Nguyen Hailong is one of four Vietnamese players selected for the Southeast Asian All-Star team. Nguyen Huang De, Nguyen Van Wei and Thu Wei Meng made their debut in the second half. The only goal in the game came from Myanmar player Meng Maolun, who received a straight pass from Australian young player Adrian to complete the final blow.

This game is Manchester United's first friendly match after the end of the season. The club is reportedly going to earn $11 million from friendly matches with the Southeast Asian All-Stars and the next Hong Kong team in China. Although they sent B Fee, Maguire, Casemiro and Diallo, Manchester United did not complete the reversal and eventually lost 0-1.