Even without Xuan Son, Nam Dinh Club still defeated Ho Chi Minh City Police.

On the evening of May 1st, Nguyen Xuan Son was on the bench as Nam Dinh won 2-0 against Ho Chi Minh City Police in Round 21 of the V.League 2025/26.

Nam Dinh defeated Ho Chi Minh City Police.

Nam Dinh's decision not to field Xuan Son in this match is believed to be aimed at conserving his energy before the first leg of the Southeast Asian Club Cup semi-final against Selangor FC on May 6th. Following that, they will face CAHN in the V.League (May 10th) and then Selangor FC again (May 13th).

At Thien Truong Stadium, the home team proactively pushed their formation forward and created significant pressure right after the opening whistle. A series of coordinated attacks by Nam Dinh put the Ho Chi Minh City Police defense on high alert.

In the 26th minute, Nam Dinh nearly opened the scoring when Brenner broke through but couldn't beat Le Giang in a one-on-one situation. The ball rebounded and A Mit put it into the net. However, the goal was disallowed for offside. Before the first half ended, Akolo tested the opposing goalkeeper once more but still couldn't make a difference.

The turning point came in the second half. In the 54th minute, from a cross from the left wing by Hong Duy, Tuan Anh controlled the ball neatly and then set up Brenner to head it into the net from close range, opening the scoring.

On the Ho Chi Minh City Police side, Tien Linh was brought onto the field by coach Le Huynh Duc in the hope of changing the course of the game. However, the striker did not leave much of an impression. Tien Linh played rather poorly, lacked connection with his teammates, and did not create any significant opportunities.

In the 82nd minute, Nascimento lost possession in the penalty area, and Van Vi immediately punished him with a shot into the near corner. The goal from the Vietnamese defender sealed a 2-0 victory for Nam Dinh.

With this result, Nam Dinh has 31 points and moves up to 5th place. Notably, Nam Dinh has won 7 of their last 9 matches.

Source: https://znews.vn/khong-can-xuan-son-clb-nam-dinh-van-ha-guc-ca-tphcm-post1648096.html