The Azkals mark their return to the Rizal Memorial Stadium with a near-perfect performance

Photo credits: The Philippine Football Federation

Christmas came in early for the home crowd who made their way to the Rizal Memorial Stadium amidst the holiday rush as the Philippine Azkals won over Brunei in their second group stage match in the 2022 AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup.

Putting that close defeat against Cambodia behind them, the Azkals put on a solid performance in front of the fans to regain composure and to give themselves a fighting chance for the knockouts as they put five past Brunei.

Goals came in from Kenshiro Daniels, Sandro Reyes, Jhanjhan Melliza, and Sebastian Rasmussen who all worked hard to score. In the seventh minute, Daniels opened the scoring for the Azkals thanks to an exquisite ball from Pocholo Bugas.

Reyes would then score their second after maneuvering past three players before putting it past the keeper with his left foot. Not only did he score a great goal, but he was also instrumental in midfield which showed how he worked hard to get into the starting eleven.

In the second half, the Philippines turned on the jets with two quickfire goals from Melliza and Rasmussen. In the 50th minute, Rasmussen found Melliza with acres of space on the left flank who then fired a rocket past Haimie Nyaring.

A minute after, Melliza would then find Rasmussen inside the box who scored his first goal for the Philippines. Brunei would not back down though as their undying spirit gave them a consolation goal in the 70th minute. Razimie Ramlli found himself wide open inside the box to head Brunei's only goal of the match.

The hornets kept on pushing in the final 10 minutes of the match as they continued to pressure the Azkals into committing mistakes. However, it was the Azkals who came out on top thanks to those 29-four goals they score before the barrage of attacks from Brunei.

Rasmussen would then put the icing on the cake as he scored his second goal for the Philippines and their fifth against Brunei in the 88th minute. Despite not getting a clean sheet, this can still be considered as an awesome performance for the Azkals who are coming off a 3-2 defeat away from home against Cambodia.

Their next assignment would be against the defending champions Thailand a day after Christmas at the Thammasat Stadium. The War Elephants are coming off a strong five-nil win over Brunei in their opening match last December 20, 2022.