Round 16 of V-League: The Race Gets Even More Intense

Round 16 saw the comeback of numerous heavyweight clubs such as Hanoi FC and Thep Xanh Nam Dinh, intensifying the competition for the top three positions.

At Hang Day Stadium, Hanoi FC continued to savor the joy of victory in their second consecutive match, this time against Song Lam Nghe An, closing in on Ninh Binh's third-place position with just a one-point deficit. Hoang Hen once again proved his role as the soul of Hanoi FC's attack by providing 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.

Meanwhile, despite also playing at home, Ninh Binh failed to successfully capitalize on this advantage when they were defeated by Cong An Hanoi with a score of 2-1, thereby missing the opportunity to widen the point gap with Hanoi FC. Meanwhile, Cong An Hanoi, after their defeat in the round 15 derby against Hanoi FC, demonstrated a strong recovery and continued to firmly hold the top spot in the standings.

Another notable comeback in Round 16 of V.League 1 – 2025/26 was that of Thep Xanh Nam Dinh, as Xuan Son and his teammates secured a 1-0 victory at PVF Stadium against PVF-CAND.

The three points earned from this match helped Thep Xanh Nam Dinh climb into the middle group of the standings, though still not reaching the top 3, it also gave coach Vu Hong Viet and his team more confidence for the remainder of this season.

Also at Hang Day Stadium, in the latest match of Round 16 of V.League 1 – 2025/26, The Cong Viettel managed only one goal against Hai Phong, but that was enough for Coach Velizar Popov's team to secure three points and continue to closely trail Cong An Hanoi in the overall standings with a four-point deficit, though having played one more match.

After the conclusion of Round 16 of V.League 1 – 2025/26, the race for the top three positions in this season's standings is extremely heated, as Cong An Hanoi is still being closely pursued by The Cong Viettel, while Ninh Binh leads Hanoi FC by just a one-point margin, and right behind them is Cong An TP.HCM, also trailing Hanoi FC by only one point.

In the lower half of the standings, SHB Da Nang and Hoang Anh Gia Lai produced one of the most spectacular score-chasing matches since the start of the league, where Hoang Anh Gia Lai's captain and central defender Jairo Rodrigues Peixoto Filho became the focal point, scoring two goals against SHB Da Nang and one goal against... Hoang Anh Gia Lai.

The final goal that sealed the 3-3 draw of the match was scored in the 7th minute of added time, by Vu Van Son, truly considered a masterpiece of Round 16 of V.League 1 – 2025/26, as the SHB Da Nang player unleashed a shot from over 40 meters away, forcing Hoang Anh Gia Lai's goalkeeper Trung Kien to dive helplessly.

After this round, V.League 1 2025/26 will take a brief break for players to join the Vietnam national team and Vietnam U23 team during the March FIFA Days, and by early April, fans will once again witness spectacular races in both halves of the standings.

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