Round 18 V-League: The decisive turn in the championship race

With the substantial advantage established, the championship race in this season's V-League is gradually concluding after Round 17. The decisive 5-1 victory over SHB Da Nang helped Hanoi Police secure 44 points, leading the second-placed team, The Cong Viettel, by 9 points.

In this round, The Cong Viettel failed to capitalize on the opportunity to narrow the gap, only managing a 1-1 draw on SLNA's home ground. Coach Velizar Popov's team conceded an early goal and had to wait until the end of the match to find an equalizer, thereby losing crucial points in the championship race.

After a series of poor performances, Ninh Binh rediscovered the joy of victory in Round 17 by defeating Hoang Anh Gia Lai 2-1 right in Pleiku. With this win, Coach Vu Tien Thanh's team solidly holds a position in the Top 3.

Meanwhile, Nam Dinh also showed signs of improvement by overcoming Ha Tinh 2-0. The return of Coach Vu Hong Viet is helping the Nam Dinh team noticeably improve its form. In this round, the highlight of Nam Dinh's victory was the outstanding performance of striker Nguyen Xuan Son, who contributed one goal and one assist.

A surprise in this round was the high-performing team Hanoi FC falling to Hai Phong. The defeat caused the Capital team to miss the chance to close in on the leading group. The loss once again revealed the lack of stability in this season's performance of the purple-shirted team.

Also disappointing in Round 17 was Ho Chi Minh City Police Club, suffering a heavy 0-4 defeat to the squad-struggling Dong A Thanh Hoa.

In the lower part of the standings, the relegation battle is becoming very unpredictable. After an impressive victory over Ho Chi Minh City Police, the Thanh Hoa team temporarily climbed to the 11th position with 16 points, simultaneously pushing HAGL (15 points) down to 12th.

The last two positions in the table belong to SHB Da Nang (13th) and PVF-CAND (14th). Although both have 12 points, the Da Nang team stands above due to a better goal difference (-11 compared to -15).

According to the Round 18 schedule of the V-League 2025-2026, the match between PVF CAND and Hanoi Police is highly anticipated. If they continue to win in the next round, Hanoi Police will take a significant step towards the championship this season.

Having exited both the Asian Cup C2 and Southeast Asian Cup C1 competitions, Hanoi Police is now solely focused on the domestic league. With a balanced and experienced squad across all positions, Coach Polking has the capability to deploy the best lineup for each match to secure full points in the remainder of the season.

More importantly, all components of Hanoi Police are performing steadily. Besides foreign players like Hugo Gomes, Leo Artur, and Alan, who are very familiar with the V-League environment, Quang Hai is performing excellently by accepting a deeper role as a playmaker, orchestrating the gameplay.

Notably, Dinh Bac's brace in Round 17 signals that Hanoi Police possesses an attacking line with multiple options for securing victories.

Alongside the impressive form of Hanoi Police itself, the championship contenders stumbling on their own paths also helps Coach Polking and his team move closer to the title. The newcomer Ninh Binh, after an initially impressive period, is gradually slowing down following a series of poor results.

Currently, The Cong Viettel is considered the only team capable of competing with Hanoi Police. In the next round, the military-shirted team will host Thanh Hoa at home. After the disappointing draw against SLNA, The Cong Viettel will have an opportunity to secure 3 points, as Coach Popov faces his former team. If they fail to secure all 3 points in Round 18, they will further allow Hanoi Police to advance closer to the championship in the V-League 2025-2026.

Round 18 Schedule
April 10
19:15: The Cong Viettel - Dong A Thanh Hoa

April 11
18:00: Song Lam Nghe An - SHB Da Nang
18:00: Hai Phong - Ho Chi Minh City Police
18:00: Thep Xanh Nam Dinh - Hoang Anh Gia Lai

April 12
18:00: Becamex Ho Chi Minh City - Ninh Binh
18:00: PVF CAND - Hanoi Police
19:15: Hanoi FC - Hong Linh Ha Tinh