Football

HÀ NỘI — FLC Thanh Hóa defeated Hoàng Anh Gia Lai 5-3 yesterday, securing a sizeable lead for themselves over the other teams in the V.League.

Playing on their home turf under the watch of thousands of local supporters, Thanh Hóa sank the former champions with doubles from Pape Omar and Uche Iheruome each and an outstanding free kick from former national midfielder Nguyễn Trọng Hoàng.

On the visitors’ side, captain Nguyễn Công Phượng scored again after months of goal drought and midfielder Vũ Văn Thanh shone with two goals.

However, it was not enough to bring them a win. Suffering their second loss in a row, Hoàng Anh Gia Lai drifted to the bottom of the ranking. They have 17 points after 16 rounds.

Thanh Hóa, meanwhile, maintained their lead on the top with 33 points, five more than the runners-up Hà Nội FC, who lost 2-3 to Sanna Khánh Hòa, although they played on home ground.

Defending champions Hà Nội FC gave away three goals, one in the first half and two in the second half. It was an unexpected result, as Sanna Khánh Hòa were considered to be at a lower level.

It was after Văn Hậu of Sanna Khánh Hòa received a red card that Hà Nội FC managed to net twice to narrow the result in the last few minutes.

Quảng Nam and Sài Gòn were tied with each other in a 1-1 draw. Sài Gòn now stand at the fourth spot with 27 points, strongly chasing the top three positions.

Quảng Ninh Coal jumped to the third place after their 2-1 win over Long An, who suffered their 11th loss in a row.

Long An have become the No 1 candidate for relegation this season, as they have only five points.

In other matches, Cần Thơ defeated Hải Phòng 2-0 and saved themselves from the SOS area.

HCM City were tied with former champions Sông Lam Nghệ An 2-2. Three-time winners Becamex Bình Dương dropped to No. 2 from the bottom after losing 3-4 to SHB Đà Nẵng. — VNS