Latest V-League rankings: The Cong Viettel wins big to celebrate coach Popov, Da Nang sinks deeper

The V-League rankings are crowded at the top, as The Cong Viettel has risen to close in on Hanoi FC and Nam Dinh FC after a resounding 6-0 victory over Da Nang in round 21.

V-League Rankings: The Cong Viettel flies high

The Cong Viettel welcomes Da Nang Club at home with 2 goals: win to give coach Velizar Popov a perfect debut, and at the same time create momentum on the V-League rankings.

The gap of 6 points with Nam Dinh and 4 points with Hanoi still allows the army team to have hope. In this round, when the two teams are in a big battle, The Cong Viettel can take advantage of the situation to break away and close in on the championship group.

Viettel The Cong (red shirt) overwhelmed the opponent

PHOTO: MINH TU

Meeting Da Nang FC is not an easy challenge. The Han River team is making a strong comeback after defeating Thanh Hoa FC in the previous round. The gap between coach Le Duc Tuan and Binh Dinh's play-off position is only 2 points. With the chance of staying in the league becoming clear again, Da Nang FC has more than enough motivation to take at least 1 point against the home team.

However, The Cong Viettel did not let Da Nang FC ruin Popov's debut. Although he had only been in the job for a few days, the Bulgarian strategist had already left his mark on The Cong Viettel's playing style. The players competed more enthusiastically and energetically, launched more neat attacks, and at the same time, their fighting spirit was pushed to the extreme.

With their superior class, The Cong Viettel crushed their opponents with a score of 6-0. Thanks to that, the army team has 36 points after 21 rounds, only 1 point behind the second team Hanoi and 3 points behind the first team Nam Dinh. Tomorrow, these two opponents will face each other. Regardless of the result, the championship race promises to be tense as The Cong Viettel has enough fuel to accelerate in the last 5 rounds.

Coach Popov's dream debut day

In the match that took place at 7:15 pm on May 2 at Hang Day Stadium, The Cong Viettel completely controlled the game. With great pressure from the flanks to the center, the home team caused the defense of the away team Da Nang to collapse.

Coach Popov makes perfect debut

The Cong Viettel won big. Right before the match, Huu Thang (left) received the award for the best goal of April 2025

PHOTO: MINH TU

In the 13th minute, Huu Thang took advantage of the away team's erratic clearance to neatly control the ball in the penalty area, then turned around and scored with his left foot.

This is a move that clearly shows Popov's requirements: fighting enthusiastically in the second phase to create opportunities. Huu Thang, Tien Anh, Van Khang and Duc Chien all fought for the ball very enthusiastically, pressing fiercely on the front line, causing Da Nang Club to continuously lose the ball.

From a pressing trap in the 15th minute, The Cong Viettel continued to score. Pedro Henrique took advantage of the opponent's loss of the ball to rush down extremely quickly, then defeated the Da Nang goalkeeper in a face-to-face situation.

In the 20th minute, Huu Thang almost put an end to Da Nang Club with a beautiful long-range shot from close to the penalty area, giving the opponent no chance to block.

The huge advantage helped the players of Viettel The Cong to excel. Coach Popov's students weaved and coordinated effectively. Under the terrible pressure of the home team, Da Nang Club could only stretch themselves to be... "targets for shooting".

In the 42nd minute, it was Pedro Henrique's turn to create a masterpiece on Hang Day Stadium. Receiving a pass from Tien Anh, The Cong Viettel's number 10 dribbled from the sideline and finished beautifully with his left foot, raising the score to 4-0.

Da Nang Club (white shirt) is helpless

PHOTO: MINH TU

At the end of the first half, it was the duo Pedro Henrique and Huu Thang who shone again. Huu Thang passed the ball to Pedro who used his speed to get past the Da Nang defender, then crossed the ball to Amarildo to raise the score to 5-0.

Before this match, the biggest win since the beginning of the season was The Cong Viettel's 5-0 thrashing of SLNA. And then, Coach Popov's team only needed one half to equal their own record.

In the second half, The Cong Viettel still dominated the game, while Da Nang Club responded weakly. The home team scored another goal thanks to Van Khang in the 56th minute, thereby ending the sweet 6-0 victory on the day Coach Popov debuted his new team. Da Nang team is still at the bottom of the table, the door of relegation awaits.

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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bang-xep-hang-v-league-moi-nhat-the-cong-viettel-thang-cuc-dam-mung-hlv-popov-da-nang-chim-sau-185250502173004196.htm