Song Lam Nghe An lost heavily to the defending champion.

Because Nam Dinh had to compete in the AFC Champions League 2 and it coincided with the FIFA Days break, the match between the defending champions and Song Lam Nghe An in round 4 had to be postponed until this afternoon (October 19). This match took place at Thien Truong Stadium, the home ground of Nam Dinh Blue Steel.

This season, the team from Thanh Nam did not have a very good start. After 3 matches, coach Vu Hong Viet's team has only won 4 points and is temporarily ranked 8th on the rankings. Therefore, when playing at home, Nam Dinh's goal is to win all 3 points to be able to approach and compete with the top group.

In this match, the team from Thanh Nam has an advantage over the away team when they can use up to 3 foreign players along with Nguyen Xuan Son (aka Rafaelson) who has just been naturalized. This will be a big challenge for coach Pham Anh Tuan and his team (Song Lam Nghe An).

On the other hand, Song Lam Nghe An is also struggling in the past 3 rounds. The Nghe team has only 2 points and is ranked 12th on the rankings. It can be affirmed that the away team is completely inferior in every aspect compared to the defending champion.

However, Song Lam Nghe An still had some luck in defense when foreign central defender Zaracho returned, after 2 matches out due to suspension. In addition, Tran Nam Hai also recovered from injury to join the main squad.

Notably, in this match, Song Lam Nghe An will continue to play with the 3-5-2 formation as in the third round against Hong Linh Ha Tinh. In which, the 3 central defenders are in charge of Zaracho, Tran Nam Hai and Phan Van Thanh; 2 full-backs are: Bui Thanh Duc and Vuong Van Huy; 3 midfielders are: Quang Tu, Quang Vinh and Dinh Xuan Tien; 2 strikers as usual are Olaha and Kuku.

It was not too surprising that Nam Dinh was the team that controlled the game when the ball rolled on Thien Truong field. With a quality squad, coach Vu Hong Viet's students controlled the ball more than their opponents. However, it was quite surprising that Song Lam Nghe An was the team that owned the first dangerous situation of the match. Right in the 6th minute, from a counter-attack in the middle, Kuku with his superior physical strength overcame Hoang Van Khanh to pass the ball to Quang Vinh. However, goalkeeper Nguyen Manh guessed the intention and quickly rushed out to block right in front of the goal.

Immediately, the home team also had a response. From the right wing, Ly Cong Hoang Anh passed the ball towards the second post to Lucas Silva, but the striker wearing the number 30 shirt failed to receive the ball, missing the opportunity to open the score regrettably.

In the following minutes, the two teams played tit for tat with a very high tempo. Although the ball possession time was heavily tilted towards the home team, with sharp counter-attacking ability, Song Lam Nghe An still brought home opportunities for themselves.

Especially in the 26th minute, Kuku broke the offside trap to face Nam Dinh goalkeeper Nguyen Manh but made a mistake in receiving the ball and the opportunity passed for SLNA. However, Van Khanh seemed to have stepped on Kuku's foot from behind. The referee stopped the match to check VAR and it took nearly 5 minutes for the decision to be made, only a yellow card for Van Khanh and Nam Dinh was awarded a free kick.

And right after that controversial situation, Nam Dinh had an answer with Lucas Silva's opening goal in the 35th minute. Hendrio made a very delicate pass in the middle for Lucas Silva to control and then decisively finish past goalkeeper Van Viet.

After conceding the goal, Song Lam Nghe An tried to push up their formation to find an equalizer. However, the away team failed to take advantage of the final attacks to equalize the score. Therefore, the first 45 minutes ended with the victory leaning towards the defending champion.

Entering the second half, the continuous pressure from Nam Dinh FC helped Nguyen Xuan Son "open his account" in the V-League this season. In the 49th minute, the striker who had just been naturalized as a Vietnamese citizen scored from the penalty spot, after center-back Espinola let the ball touch his hand in the penalty area. In the 56th minute, he completed his double with a neat close-range header. We must also praise Lucas Silva when his cross was so accurate. In the 69th minute, the score was 4-0 for Nam Dinh FC after To Van Vu scored.

Song Lam Nghe An's efforts only helped them narrow the score to 1-4. In the 74th minute, Le Dinh Long Vu crossed the ball for Kuku to jump high and head the ball, forcing goalkeeper Tran Nguyen Manh to go into the net to pick up the ball.

With this result, Nam Dinh temporarily climbed to 5th place on the rankings with 7 points. Meanwhile, SLNA hit rock bottom with only 2 points.