Football

HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội returned to the V.League 1's top position after a 3-0 win over SHB Đà Nẵng, and coach Chun Jae Ho was happy with the performance of captain Nguyễn Văn Quyết.

Quyết opened the scoring in the additional time of the first half, converting Hà Nội's domination into a goal.

National Defender Đỗ Hùng Dũng chipped the ball over goalkeeper Phan Văn Biểu to make it 2-0 in the 72nd minute. Young striker Lê Xuân Tú broke the offsides trap to score in the third minute of additional time.

"Quyết is the mastermind of the team. He can take the lead, control the pace and regulate our play. His high performance recently earned him a call to the national team. I am proud to work with him," said Chun in a post-match briefing.

Quyết last week signed a three-year contract with Hà Nội. Accordingly, he will play for the former champion until 2025.

Chun said after a 3-2 loss to Hải Phòng last week, Hà Nội spent all its time preparing for the match against Đà Nẵng. And they completed their mission. Now they will focus on the rest of their matches so that they can win the championship.

The 3-0 win pushed Hà Nội back to the top position. They have gained 43 points after 20 matches, opening a two-point gap with second-placed Hải Phòng who has played 21 games.

Hà Nội will next visit Đông A Thanh Hóa which lost 1-2 to second to last place HCM City last Friday.

On the other side, coach Phan Thanh Hùng of Đà Nẵng also appreciated Quyết, saying he was a cannot-be-replaced member of the team.

"Hà Nội will struggle to score without Quyết. After he was on the field in the match with Hải Phòng, Hà Nội scored twice. Today, he netted the opener which changed the game," Hùng said.

The former national coach did not blame his players because losing to mighty Hà Nội was not a disaster.

"They played their best, I recognised their effort," said Hùng. "We started the tournament really well until some key players were injured. My young players seemed to lose their confidence as they did not have experienced ones to lead them. We have to accept the poor result this season because many important players left and were injured. There were moments that two-thirds of the first team could not play. It was a big problem."

Đà Nẵng placed ninth with 22 points. They had three points more than bottom-dwelling Sài Gòn FC.

Hùng said Đà Nẵng will now concentrate on their next matches.

"Near the end of the season, only one win or loss will strongly affect our final position. Now, we will have to earn points from matches against Sài Gòn and HCM City who are in lower places while keeping our eyes on Bình Định and Viettel who stand above us."

In other matches on Sunday, former champion Viettel tied 0-0 with Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh. Meanwhile, Becamex Bình Dương drew Nam Định 1-1. VNS