If you have less players, you win, if you have more players… you lose.

Viettel's The Cong is unstable again

The Cong Viettel's winless streak in V-League 2024 - 2025 has extended to 3 matches. In the match against Thanh Hoa Club at Hang Day Stadium on the evening of November 15, coach Nguyen Duc Thang's team lost 1-2, thereby falling to 6th place.

The visitors took the lead in the 15th minute through Luiz Antonio De Souza, before Pedro Henrique equalized 1-1 10 minutes later thanks to a successful penalty kick. However, a goal from young talent Ngoc My in the second consecutive match in the V-League helped Thanh Hoa Club regain the lead in the 34th minute.

Viettel's The Cong (red shirt) lost in a game with more players.

Notably, the home team The Cong Viettel had one more player in the second half against Thanh Hoa, as the away team's defender Hoang Thai Binh was sent off in the 45th minute. However, coach Nguyen Duc Thang's players were still struggling, stuck and unable to find an equalizer, before accepting defeat.

This is a very familiar scenario for The Cong Viettel. In the match against Binh Dinh in round 3 of the V-League, the army team conceded first, then played with an extra man from the 22nd minute, when midfielder Cao Van Trien was sent off. However, with the numerical advantage for more than 70 minutes, The Cong Viettel could not find an equalizer, thus losing with a score of 0-1.

The Cong Viettel lost both matches when they had an extra man. But, strangely, when they had one less man, Nguyen Duc Chien and his teammates… won. That was the match against Binh Duong Club in round 5. The home team The Cong Viettel took the lead in the first half, then had to play with one less man for the entire second half after Bui Van Duc received a red card. With only 10 men left on the field, The Cong Viettel still held firm, preserving the 1-0 victory.

Viettel's The Cong is not strong when it comes to attacking.

Bodybuilding… can't be built?

This is the catchphrase of many fans of the army team, when witnessing the tragicomedy of The Cong Viettel since last season.

The army team played very well when playing as underdogs. The Cong Viettel defeated the Hanoi Police Club (CAHN Club) 3 times, defeated Nam Dinh and Hanoi in the second leg of last season. When placed in a defensive counter-attacking position, Truong Tien Anh and his teammates seemed to play more confidently and methodically. The Cong Viettel's attackers all had speed, strength and the ability to stick together and apply persistent pressure to serve counter-attacking plans.

Difficult problem for coach Duc Thang

However, when forced to attack, The Cong Viettel lacked form. Coach Nguyen Duc Thang's team finds it difficult to defeat teams with good defense, as evidenced by the 0-1 defeat against HAGL, the 0-0 draw against Khanh Hoa or the 1-1 draw against Binh Dinh at the end of last season. This season, The Cong Viettel was powerless against Binh Dinh's solid defense in round 3, then let Ha Tinh hold them to a 1-1 draw at home.

Answering Thanh Nien Newspaper's question about The Cong Viettel being stronger in defense than attack, Coach Nguyen Duc Thang said that this is a common situation of many teams in the V-League, when they often focus on defensive counter-attacks rather than attacking, and that is why the Vietnamese team is not good at attacking.

However, as a big team with high goals in many competitions, The Cong Viettel cannot just rely on defensive counter-attacks. The army team needs to attack, dominate the game, have a clear organization of play and know how to take advantage of opportunities.

Otherwise, The Cong Viettel will only be a title contender, unlikely to reach the throne.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-bong-ky-la-nhat-v-league-da-thieu-nguoi-thi-thang-hon-nguoi-lai-thua-185241116001801418.htm