Hanoi Police are within reach of the championship title, while PVF-CAND faces danger.

With superior squad quality and the advantage of their home ground at Hang Day Stadium, the top-ranked Hanoi Police easily dominated Song Lam Nghe An from the opening minutes. The match marked an outstanding performance by Nguyen Dinh Bac, who scored a hat-trick, along with a goal from Pham Minh Phuc, helping the police team secure a 4-2 win.

With these three goals, Dinh Bac set a new milestone in his career by becoming the first domestic player to score a hat-trick in a match throughout the past five V-League seasons. Previously, only naturalized strikers like Hoang Vu Samson or Nguyen Xuan Son had achieved similar feats.

This is also Dinh Bac's first hat-trick in his V-League career, propelling him into the group of the league's top scorers this year with 7 goals. Notably, all 7 goals were scored in his last 4 matches wearing the Hanoi Police jersey.

After round 20, the team coached by Mano Polking further solidified their top position in the V-League standings with 51 points, nearing their third national football championship in history (after 1984 and 2023). Behind Hanoi Police is The Cong Viettel with 9 fewer points. This is a significant gap, as only 6 rounds remain in the league.

With the stable form of their key players, Hanoi Police possesses all the necessary elements to once again ascend to the pinnacle of domestic football. If they maintain their focus, the V-League 2025-2026 championship likely will not escape the grasp of coach Mano Polking and his squad.

Meanwhile, despite great effort, second-placed The Cong Viettel did not enjoy a victory in this round, as they were held to a 3-3 draw by hosts SHB Da Nang, with the decisive goal scored by midfielder Joel Brandon Lopez Pissano from a penalty in the 90+3 minute. "Losing" the win in stoppage time allowed Hanoi Police to widen their lead in the standings. The realistic goal for coach Popov and his team at this point is to secure the 2nd position in the remaining rounds, amid the pursuit by Ninh Binh and Hanoi FC.

In this round, the clash between two Top 4 teams, Ninh Binh and Hanoi FC, concluded with a dramatic 3-2 victory for the visiting team from the Capital. This defeat allowed their rival to close the gap to just 1 point. The race for the 3rd position between these two clubs will be a focal point in the remaining V-League rounds.

Meanwhile, by only securing 1 point against Becamex TP Ho Chi Minh at Go Dau Stadium, Nam Dinh has officially become the former champion. The draw also caused the Nam Dinh team to miss their chance to enter the Top 5. After round 20, the team coached by Vu Hong Viet has only 28 points, while the top-ranked Hanoi Police already have 51 points, with only 6 rounds left.

The relegation battle is highly dramatic and unpredictable, as SHB Da Nang's 3-3 draw against The Cong Viettel officially pushed PVF-CAND to the bottom of the table.

Given the current situation, the relegation race in the final rounds is likely to be a "two-horse race" between SHB Da Nang and PVF-CAND.

Looking at the upcoming schedule, after facing The Cong Viettel, Da Nang's next opponent will be Hanoi FC. These are two of the teams against which the Han River team has historically struggled to earn points. However, with no other options, coach Le Duc Tuan and his squad must brace themselves for a tough climb before dreaming of decisive points for survival in the remaining rounds.

Hanoi FC awaits Da Nang at Hang Day Stadium to seize the 3rd position from Ninh Binh. This poses a potential threat to coach Le Duc Tuan and his team. Once they have a specific target, the Capital's football representative always becomes formidable for any opponent.