Matches in the first round of Viet Nam's top-tier V-League 2021 ended last weekend with many interesting surprises.

An action shot from a Sunday match between HCMC and SHB Da Nang

Football teams that struggled for form all through last year’s league season or encountered too many obstacles in the preparation for this year’s, such as Nam Dinh, Hai Phong, and Quang Ninh, made perfect starts to the 2021 V-League season.

Meanwhile, defending champions Viettel and former champions Ha Noi FC which are shining brightest in this year’s championship race received bitter failures.

Ha Noi FC suffered a shock 3-0 away defeat against Nam Dinh at the Thien Truong Stadium last Friday night.

The visitors are among the favourites for the title this season, but two goals from Gramoz Kurtaj and one from Rodrigo Dias left them reeling. Ha Noi FC’s coach Chu Dinh Nghiem lamented the poor state of the pitch after the match, but that alone doesn’t explain such a stunning reversal.

Elsewhere in the opening weekend of fixtures, Hai Phong came away with a slender 0-1 victory over Viettel although they were underestimated by football fans compared with defending champions.

It took just two minutes for Hai Phong to expose that frail defence that was blamed for the absence of midfield duo of Bui Tien Dung and Que Ngoc Hai.

Despite dominating possession for the match, the hosts’ loose defence kicked their league title defence off to an inauspicious start.

Likewise, Ho Chi Minh City Club suffered a 0-1 away loss to SHB Da Nang, and Hoang Anh Gia Lai were beat 0-1 by Sai Gon FC.

In reality of course, such unsatisfactory results have not affected too much the way ahead of the brightest candidates for this season's championship. But, they are in urgent need of making suitable adjustments to their defensive and counter-attack tactics in order to produce the amazing performances in the upcoming games.

By NGUYEN AN - Translated by M.D