SHB Đà Nẵng players celebrate their goal in the 1-0 win over Hà Nội Police on July 2. The Police however still on top of the ranking table. Photo of VPF

HÀ NỘI — Despite their third defeat of the season, Hà Nội Police topped the V.League 1 ranking after the end of the first period on July 2.

The Police lost 0-1 to SHB Đà Nẵng in the first match after introducing their blockbuster contracts, midfielder Nguyễn Quang Hải and goalkeeper Filip Nguyễn, at Hòa Xuân Stadium in Đà Nẵng City.

Goncalves Silva Lucas Vinicius scored the only goal of the match in the 62nd minute, ruining the debut of the US$760,000-worth Nguyễn.

Meanwhile, the talented Hải played his first match since returning home from France. His performance, however, did not leave a positive impression for supporters. He was replaced about 10 minutes before the end of the match.

The loss wasn't enough to push the Police out of the top place in the table. The new team has 24 points after seven wins, three draws and three losses.

Meanwhile, Đà Nẵng enjoyed their first win of the season, jumping away from their familiar bottom place. 

After 13 matches of the first period, the former champions have 10 points from one win, seven draws and five losses. They place at No 12 among 14 teams.

Second place went to defending champions Hà Nội FC who also suffered a 0-1 loss to Sông Lam Nghệ An on home soil.

Đinh Xuân Tiến scored the winning goal of the game 17 minutes after the interval.

Bozidar Bandovic of Hà Nội confirmed that the absence of key players, including defender Đỗ Hùng Dũng and captain Nguyễn Văn Quyết, strongly affected his team's performance.

He said Hà Nội tried to manage the game well and had several opportunities but the lack of connection between players led to their poor play and, ultimately, their loss.

Đông A Thanh Hoá came in third place after a 1-0 defeat to Hải Phòng on July 2 with the only goal by Yuri Souza Almeida just two minutes into the game.

In other matches, Viettel beat HCM City 1-0; Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh tied Khánh Hòa 0-0; Becamex Bình Dương lost 2-3 to Nam Định, and TopenLand Bình Định won 2-1 over Hoàng Anh Gia Lai.

After the first period of the league, the top three teams are joined by Viettel, Hải Phòng, Bình Định, Nam Định and Hà Tĩnh to compete for the championship trophy.

They will play in a round-robin format with dates to be confirmed later this month.

The remaining six teams will form a group, also taking part in a round-robin tournament, to avoid relegation.

Currently, HCM City and Bình Dương are the two teams in the bottom and candidates for the lower division next season.

The V.League 1 will pause for the National Cup's matches from July 6-12. VNS