V-League: Three-horse or five-horse race?

However, in round 13, if the above teams do not play well, losing 2-3 points for example, and the 4th and 5th ranked teams such as Hai Phong or TopenLand Binh Dinh get 3 points, the rankings will change in 2nd and 3rd place. V-League is starting with many surprises and excitement, so maintaining a high ranking is always difficult for any team.

After the highlight match of round 12 between home team Hanoi FC and Hoang Anh Gia Lai (2-1), Coach Kiatisuk expressed his recognition of the true strength of the top team when playing at home at Hang Day Stadium. A notable detail is that towards the end of the match, the home team played with an all-domestic force and only maintained 2 foreign players in the match, while the opponent had 3 foreign players. That proves that the capital team always has an abundant force, from the pillars who are national team players, to U23 players, U20 players, U19 players, there is little difference between official players and reserve players...

Ranking after round 12. Photo: VPF

The two goals that Hanoi FC scored in the 2 minutes of the match were both scored beautifully by 2 domestic players by Van Quyet and Tuan Hai, with 2 assists by foreign player Siladi and domestic player Van Hau, proving the strength and excellence of Hanoi FC. Those 2 goals also continued to show that Hoang Anh Gia Lai, although always paying attention to strengthening the defense by buying good domestic and foreign players, still could not meet the demand, there was still a difference between attack and defense. Facing a domestic defensive squad including Thanh Chung, Van Hau, Duy Manh... Hanoi FC still maintained the necessary solidity and tightness in every match, even against a team with a strong attacking force like Hoang Anh Gia Lai. The fact that Tan Truong only conceded 1 goal, in a force majeure situation, proved that.

It should be added that in the first leg, Hoang Anh Gia Lai had difficulty competing with two top opponents:Lam River Nghe Anand Hanoi FC both on away field. At the beginning of the season, Hoang Anh Gia Lai did not play successfully, so losing 0-2 to Song Lam Nghe An at Vinh Stadium was not too surprising. When the Mountain City team started to get into shape with 4 consecutive wins and directly threatened the top spot of Hanoi FC, but entering the match still could not escape the "curse" of many years of losing matches at Hang Day Stadium, showing that Kiatisuk's team still has many problems to solve, if they really want to surpass Hanoi FC to find the V-League throne that they thought they had in the 2021 pandemic season. In both matches against direct competitors, Hoang Anh Gia Lai conceded 2 goals and only scored 1 goal. That result shows the correspondence on the rankings, although temporary, and Hoang Anh Gia Lai only ranked 3rd, showing a lot of potential but not exploited and promoted in the first leg.

Song Lam Nghe An in the match against Thanh Hoa. Photo courtesy of Chung Le

The advantage of playing at home at Hang Day Stadium of Hanoi FC against Song Lam Nghe An and Hoang Anh Gia Lai was fully exploited by the capital team with 2 narrow 2-1 wins. Meanwhile, Song Lam Nghe An had a successful home match and a losing away match against the above 2 opponents. The advantages and disadvantages in the first leg will be returned in the second leg when Hoang Anh Gia Lai will host both Hanoi FC and Song Lam Nghe An at Pleiku Stadium and Coach Kiatisuk is making an appointment to meet the opponent again in the second leg to "pay back both the principal and interest". History shows that both Hanoi FC and Song Lam Nghe An always face difficulties at Pleiku Stadium and by then, it will be known "which cat bites which mouse" and the rankings may be reversed? Therefore, although the gap between the opponent is 6-7 points, a distance considered safe, Hanoi FC still cannot "sleep well" because everything is extremely difficult ahead.

At the end of the first leg is the three-horse race between Hanoi FC - Song Lam Nghe An - Hoang Anh Gia Lai and the pursuers and disruptors are Hai Phong, TopenLand Binh Dinh. No one is sure that the list of top teams will "take shape" after each round, except for the difficulties that are piling up on the shoulders of the two teams Saigon FC and Ho Chi Minh City. Recently, TopenLand Binh Dinh and Viettel are returning to the race, directly challenging the teams above. Therefore, all evaluations and rankings can only be for the teams Hanoi FC or Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Song Lam Nghe An with depth of force, battle experience, and even lines.

The race will be intense, exciting, and unpredictable when the teams above stumble, other teams have a chance to squeeze in, and there is always a weak team that is a "point bank" for the stronger teams. However, the direct confrontations in the second leg at Pleiku Stadium between host Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Hanoi FC and Song Lam Nghe An will be the "focus" of the rounds, contributing to determining the V-League's ranking at the end of the season. If Hanoi FC continues to play as it is now, the V-League will soon shape the portrait of the champion, but it will be a boring match, I know, no longer attractive. The problem is that Hoang Anh Gia Lai must prove the true strength of the championship candidate and Song Lam Nghe An, although they only strived for the top 3 at the beginning of the season, seems like they will try to achieve a higher goal? Only then will the V-League be really worth watching until the last minute of the tournament./.

Phu Chau