Round 13 of the V-League: A series of shocking upsets unfold

Round 13 consistently saw games with unexpected results, favoring the underdog teams.

Following the thrilling matches in the opening fixtures of Round 13 of the 2025/2026 V-League on February 7, the games on February 8 were extremely exciting and surprising, even leaving football fans “shocked” by the final scores…

The Viettel Sports Club aimed to take advantage of Ninh Binh’s defeat in the previous matchday to close the points gap. Their opponent, SLNA, coached by Popov, is fighting to avoid relegation. However, Viettel Sports Club suffered a “shocking” defeat at Hang Day Stadium, losing 1-4 by the end of the match. This marked the second loss of the first half of the season for the soldiers’ team, and it was their heaviest defeat in terms of scoreline.

Just in the 3rd minute, Justin Garcia opened the scoring for the visiting SLNA team. By the 20th minute, striker Lucao equalized 1-1 for the home side. In the remaining time, coach Văn Sỹ Sơn’s players scored three more goals, thanks to Olaha (who scored twice) and Dale Moore. This result helped the Nghệ An team climb toward the mid-table group. Meanwhile, this loss prevented Viettel from narrowing the gap with the top-ranked CAHN, hindering their championship pursuit.

At Thống Nhất Stadium, fans witnessed another surprise when Đông Á Thanh Hóa, also in the relegation zone, fought hard to secure a victory against the home team, Công an TP.HCM — a top contender. The hero for the visitors was the Laotian-Vietnamese player Damoth Thongkhamsavath, who scored both goals in the 9th and 76th minutes. The only goal for Công an TP.HCM was scored by player Makrillos.

Several bottom-table clubs surged strongly in Round 13, intensifying the competition in that zone and bringing new names into the mix, such as Becamex TP.HCM and the defending champions Thép Xanh Nam Định…