The race among the capital's football teams.

Round 16 of the V.League 2025/26 saw the return of several big names from the professional national championship such as Hanoi FC and Thep Xanh Nam Dinh, adding more heat to the race for the top 3.

At Hang Day Stadium, Hanoi FC continued their winning streak with a second consecutive victory, this time against Song Lam Nghe An , closing in on Ninh Binh's third-place position to just one point behind.

Hoang Hen continued to demonstrate his crucial role in Hanoi FC's attack with an assist that set up David Fisher to open the scoring for the home team at Hang Day Stadium, paving the way for Hai Long and Van Quyet to complete Hanoi FC's 3-0 victory.

Hanoi FC secured a victory to continue their pursuit of the championship.

Meanwhile, despite playing at home, Ninh Binh failed to capitalize on their advantage, losing 2-1 to Hanoi Police and missing the opportunity to widen the points gap with Hanoi FC. Hanoi Police, after their defeat in the derby against Hanoi FC in round 15, showed a strong recovery and remained firmly at the top of the league table.

Another noteworthy comeback in the round of 16 was that of Nam Dinh Green Steel, as Xuan Son and his teammates secured a 1-0 victory away at PVF-CAND.

The three points gained from this match helped Nam Dinh Green Steel climb to the middle of the league table. Although they are still not close to the top 3, it has given coach Vu Hong Viet and his team more confidence for the remainder of this season.

Also at Hang Day Stadium, in the last match of round 16, The Cong Viettel only managed to score one goal against Hai Phong, but that was enough for coach Velizar Popov's team to take home 3 points and continue to closely trail Hanoi Police in the standings, trailing by 4 points but having played one more match.

After the conclusion of round 16, the race for the top 3 positions in this season's standings is extremely intense, with Hanoi Police still being closely followed by The Cong Viettel, Ninh Binh only one point ahead of Hanoi FC, and right behind them is Ho Chi Minh City Police, also only one point behind Hanoi FC.

In the other half of the table, SHB Da Nang and Hoang Anh Gia Lai produced one of the most spectacular goal-scoring chases since the start of the season, with Hoang Anh Gia Lai's captain and central defender Jairo Rodrigues Peixoto Filho becoming the center of attention, scoring two goals against SHB Da Nang and one goal against… Hoang Anh Gia Lai.

The final goal, which sealed the 3-3 draw, was scored in the 7th minute of added time by Vu Van Son. It was truly considered a masterpiece of the round of 16, as the Da Nang player unleashed a shot from over 40 meters out, leaving Hoang Anh Gia Lai's goalkeeper Trung Kien with no chance.

While this result hasn't helped Da Nang improve their position in the standings, coach Le Duc Tuan's team has extended their unbeaten streak to three matches and is maintaining a relatively impressive form this season.

The race among the capital's football teams.

After this round, the V.League will take a break to allow players to focus on the Vietnamese national team and the U23 Vietnamese team during the FIFA Days in March, and in early April, fans will once again witness spectacular races in both halves of the standings.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/cuoc-dua-cua-cac-doi-bong-thu-do.html