V-League 2023: Drama right from the start

This is not only the best Capital derby match of the round but also possibly the whole tournament as many people know and hope. Along with many other matches that bring unexpected results, it can be said that right from the beginning of the season, V-League 2023 is starting like a "dream" with many things worth mentioning and paying attention to now.

First of all, the first two teams to be “identified” are Khanh Hoa, who have just returned to the V-League, and Ho Chi Minh City, who struggled last season with two opening losses, showing their weak strength and weak investment, and whether they have ambition or not, they will have a very difficult time in the upcoming race. SHB Da Nang lost their second home match, which also started to be “alerted” about their desperate race to avoid falling into the danger zone.

Meanwhile, although Nam Dinh Blue Steel won both opening matches with a narrow score of 1-0, quickly taking them to the top of the table, whether they can maintain the position or not is uncertain. Mr. Vu Hong Viet once dared to dream of bringing the team from Thanh Nam to the championship, entering the tournament with 2 wins as capital, but he began to understand that things were not easy, and that the situation could even be "overturned" at any time.

Dong A Thanh Hoa 0 - 0 Song Lam Nghe An. Photo: document

The teams that did not start as expected but immediately lined up, marched with dignity, dominated the field and attacked excellently were Binh Dinh (won Khanh Hoa 3-0), Hanoi FC won Cong An Ha Noi 2-0 as mentioned at the beginning of the article, Hai Phong (won Ho Chi Minh City 1-0). The teams that "changed their image" compared to round 1 in a clearly progressive direction included Song Lam Nghe An (held Dong A Thanh Hoa 0-0), Hoang Anh Gia Lai (drawn 1-1 on Binh Duong field), Hong Linh Ha Tinh drew with strong team Viettel... to get 2 matches with 2 points as capital for the difficult long-distance race.

Hanoi FC 2 - 0 Hanoi Police. Photo: Bongdaplus

In that overall picture, there is an obvious truth that is starting to emerge that the defending champion Hanoi FC will be the most certain candidate, contrary to their previous slow "warm-up" mentality. Without Van Hau, this team immediately has Van Kien playing extremely well with a cross that Van Quyet intercepted and headed high to open the scoring against the newly emerging arch-rivals Cong An Hanoi, not to mention defender Van Vi could also do the same in the middle of the first half of the match. The addition of foreign players of Hanoi FC is really "cut into pieces" when midfielder Marcao plays energetically, intercepts and changes state extremely well. This team attacks evenly across the field, knowing how to neutralize all directions of attack from the opponent. Hanoi FC's second goal is a very familiar move after the coordination on the left wing and Van Quyet once again shows that this is where this striker best demonstrates his ability, strengths and top class, regardless of who the opponent is?

This key match also showed that Hanoi Police started to have difficulties with new players and a new lineup, although the talent of the teachers and students is undeniable. Without the striker Fred, who had just scored 3 goals in the opening match, Hanoi Police immediately felt "slowed down a beat" against the opponent's famous defense. They were constantly blocked by Viet Anh or Thanh Chung at moments when they thought they could score, such as the situation where To Van Vu passed to Rodrigues right in front of Tan Truong's goal at the beginning of the first half.

Meanwhile, despite saving at least 2 obvious situations, Bui Tien Dung cannot be said to be innocent in the first goal. And at least in the 2 goals that were conceded, the central defender pair Tien Dung-Tan Sinh of Hanoi Police were both "guilty" for not being able to read the best situation or if there were a foreign central defender of high class, things would have been different. The difference in the level of Hanoi Police's defense, such as an unstable goalkeeper, 2 strong wings but a less experienced center, will most likely cause this team to lose to good attacking teams and force them to calculate their personnel in the near future?

In short, V-League is surprisingly good and promises a lot of drama and unpredictability ahead. The national team players at Hanoi FC, the young players at Hoang Anh Gia Lai... are playing well, which is a good sign for Vietnamese football, especially the U22 Vietnam team that will attend the SEA Games in Cambodia in May. And let's wait for the stars at Hanoi Police, Binh Dinh... to regain their original image, so that the race is truly attractive, worth watching and worth talking about as expected by experts and fans near and far...