The race for the championship and relegation in V.League is intense.

Before the 18th round of V.League 2024/25, all predictions were that the top group of the rankings would continue to widen the gap with the chasing teams behind, because in this round they all met opponents with lower rankings.

However, this predicted scenario could not become a reality. First was The Cong Viettel, the team of coach Duc Thang, who took the lead twice on Ha Tinh field, but in the end could only leave with 1 point, because the home team Hong Linh Ha Tinh stubbornly chased until the last minute to end the match in a 2-2 draw.

Meanwhile, Nam Dinh Blue Steel seemed to have secured 3 points when hosting Ho Chi Minh City Club at Thien Truong Stadium in the context that the away team was missing both number 1 goalkeeper Patrik Le Giang and number 2 goalkeeper Van Tien.

However, Ho Chi Minh City FC was the team that opened the score after successfully taking advantage of the home team's mistake, and the subsequent efforts of Nam Dinh Steel only helped them get an equalizer thanks to Romulo.

A point in this match against Ho Chi Minh City FC is no different from a victory, and although Nam Dinh Blue Steel did not win, it still kept the top spot, because in the match that took place a few hours later, Hanoi FC only got 1 point against Hai Phong who played very tightly.

The fact that Nam Dinh Steel Blue, Hanoi FC and The Cong Viettel all failed to win in this round left the top three positions on the rankings unchanged. This result also gave Hanoi Police the opportunity to move up to narrow the gap in points with Hanoi FC and The Cong Viettel.

The three points earned at home at Hang Day Stadium after a successful comeback against Hoang Anh Gia Lai helped Hanoi Police to be only 2 points behind 2nd-placed The Cong Viettel and 3 points behind 2nd-placed Hanoi FC.

This means that the championship race will have one more candidate, and if they maintain their current form, Hanoi Police can completely think about the possibility of ending the season in one of the top 3 positions.

Similar to the championship race, the relegation battle also witnessed a turning point in round 18 of V.League 2024/25, when Quy Nhon Binh Dinh had a precious 2-1 victory right on Tam Ky Stadium of Quang Nam.

This was a match where Quy Nhon Binh Dinh fell behind early on, but they quickly scored two goals to turn the situation around, and despite being heavily pressured in the second half, Quy Nhon Binh Dinh still held firm to leave with all three points.

Thanks to this result, Quy Nhon Binh Dinh has narrowed the gap in points with Song Lam Nghe An above to 2 points, and is only 4 points behind Quang Nam.

Not wanting to be outdone by Quy Nhon Binh Dinh, SHB Da Nang also demonstrated their indomitable spirit by holding Becamex Binh Duong to a 1-1 draw at Go Dau. Although this result could not help SHB Da Nang improve their position, it was still a strong motivation for coach Le Duc Tuan and his team for the remaining stages of this season.

After round 18, both the championship race and the relegation battle are still open, and it is impossible to confirm anything about the expected final rankings of the teams at the present time.