Quang Hải celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal in a match against Sài Gòn FC. Photo thethao247.vn  

HÀ NỘI — Defending champion Hà Nội FC beat Sài Gòn FC 4-2 on Wednesday at the Hàng Đẫy Stadium in Hà Nội, keeping hope alive for the championship.

Both teams entered the match with a strong determination to win. The winning team will take the second place behind Viettel on the table and keep their hope alive on the championship race with one more match ahead in the the final round that will take place later this week, while the losing team will have no chance to win the championship this year.

From the beginning of the match, Hà Nội pushed their formation to attack and find an opening goal.

The host Hà Nội controlled the game in the first 10 minutes, taking only nine minutes to make a breakthrough.

Midfielder Thành Lương on the left side made a pass into the box for Hùng Dũng, who made a brilliant first touch to control the ball before making a great assist for striker Romario who took a close header.

After conceding the goal, the away team’s players bounced back with hope to get the equalizer. Both teams created many opportunities in front of each other's goal.

At the 40-minute mark, striker Geovane of Sài Gòn FC stole the ball from the host’s midfielder and then took a powerful shot with his left foot outside the box to get the equalizer.

The first half ended with one goal for each team.

In the very first minutes of the second half, Quang Hải made an incredible volley from outside the box into the visitors' net after clearance by the defender captain Quốc Long of Sài Gòn FC.

Four minutes after Hải's goal, Thành Lương, on the left wing, went through two visitors' defenders and then took a shot from a narrow angle. The ball went to the back of the net. It was 3-1 for Hà Nội FC within the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Receiving two goals early in the second half, the visitors played the rest of the match under pressure, making counter-attacks that were not sharp enough to get a goal.

At the 66-minute mark, the host got another goal by Văn Tới.

In the last 25 minutes of the match, Saigon FC pushed up the formation to get a draw because if they lost, they would officially say goodbye to the dream of winning the 2020 V.League1 championship.

At the 69th minute, Pedro shortened the score 2-4 for Sài Gòn FC. But that was all they could do until the referee blew the last whistle.

With this win, Hà Nội FC takes back second place on the standing table with only two points behind Viettel which has 38 points.

Hà Nội will have to win its last match against Quảng Ninh Coal and will wait for Viettel to lose against Sài Gòn FC in the final round, which will take place this weekend. VNS