Without Xuan Son, it's too difficult to score!

Nam Dinh FC is still on the championship track, but the injury of key striker Nguyen Xuan Son has put the Thien Truong Stadium team in doubt. Without the striker who scored 31 goals in 26 matches in the V-League last season, where will coach Vu Hong Viet and his team go? Especially when Nam Dinh has to welcome former champion The Cong Viettel, who has a very solid defense, in the match taking place at 6 p.m. on January 19 in round 10.

The answer was revealed at Thien Truong Stadium. Without their best striker, Nam Dinh Club, although having more possession time, was still stuck in finding the goal of The Cong Viettel.

Highlight Nam Dinh Club 0-1 Viettel The Cong Club: Without Xuan Son, the champion 'stumbles' | Round 10 V-League 2024-2025

Nam Dinh Club (white shirt) lost at home field Thien Truong

Throughout the first half, Joseph Mpande and his teammates had a lot of difficulty in launching attacks. Nam Dinh lacked a breakthrough striker to open up the ball, so most of the passes either lingered in the middle of the field, or went close to the sidelines and were blocked. Against one of the best defenses in the tournament, Nam Dinh's best chances in the first half came from long-range shots, or individual breakthrough efforts by Mpande or Caio Cesar.

On the other hand, The Cong Viettel did not depend on foreign players (in fact, the domestic players were even more outstanding), so the away team played proactively and diversely with sharp moves. In the second half, when Nam Dinh Club started to push their formation higher, leading to "exposed flanks", The Cong Viettel had the decisive punch in the 64th minute. Duc Chien dribbled the ball on the right wing and crossed just in time for Manh Dung to cut in and finish dangerously, opening the score for The Cong Viettel.

For a team as good at defending as The Cong Viettel to score first, the chance for any team to equalize is not high, including the champion Nam Dinh. In their strong defensive counterattack, coach Nguyen Duc Thang's team blocked Nam Dinh's explosive players well. The home team only had a chance in the last seconds when goalkeeper Van Phong rushed out and collided with Lucas from Nam Dinh Club in the penalty area. However, after consulting the slow-motion replay, the referee refused to award Nam Dinh a penalty because he judged that the ball was still far away from Lucas, and even if goalkeeper Van Phong did not block, it would be difficult for the home team to score.

Maintaining the 1-0 victory, The Cong Viettel Club rose to third place with 18 points. Coach Duc Thang and his team are only 2 points behind second-placed Nam Dinh, but still have played 1 match less than their opponents.

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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/clb-nam-dinh-thua-the-cong-viettel-vang-xuan-son-qua-kho-ghi-ban-185250119201212447.htm