Sông Lam Nghệ An (SLNA) beat Hoàng Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) 2-0 in Pleiku on 23 October 2026 (17:00 kick-off, Vietnam time) to move provisionally to the top of LPBank V.League 1 2026/27. Centre-back Jairo headed the opener against his former club in the 57th minute and overseas Vietnamese midfielder Abdel-Amine Trần Đức Vinh sealed it in the 90th. SLNA remain unbeaten after five games, with three wins and two draws for 11 points, while HAGL sit 13th of 14 on 3 points.
A ruled-out goal and a set-piece breakthrough
SLNA lost a forward almost straight away: Bongdaplus reported that one of their forwards was injured within the first few minutes and replaced by Xuân Đại. The visitors still had the ball in the net after 18 minutes through Luiz Guilherme, but referee Nguyễn Trung Kiên went to the VAR screen and disallowed it for a foul by Onoja Joseph on an HAGL player in the build-up, according to Thanh Niên. Before the break HAGL goalkeeper Trần Trung Kiên kept out a Guilherme header, and SLNA's Cao Văn Bình saved a free kick from Hoàng Vĩnh Nguyên.
The reports read the first half differently. Thanh Niên saw HAGL as the livelier side, with coach Văn Sỹ Sơn setting SLNA up to defend and counter; Bongdaplus thought the visitors had the upper hand. Sơn sent on midfielder Karim Trần Phi Long at half-time. The breakthrough came from a right-wing corner, delivered by Hồ Khắc Ngọc according to Dân trí, which Jairo met with a powerful header. Thanh Niên notes that the Brazilian spent three seasons at HAGL, from 2023 to 2026. HAGL pushed forward and left space behind, and in the 90th minute Guilherme broke clear, beat a defender and set up Đức Vinh to finish.
Coach's message to Jairo
Sơn told Jairo before the game that a professional has to give everything to prove himself in the shirt he wears now and leave his feelings aside while playing, Bongda24h reported. The coach dedicated the win to the fans who made the long trip to Gia Lai and praised young players including Đức Vinh, Nguyễn Quang Vinh and the U21 graduates recently promoted to the first team.
The table after round 5 so far
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SLNA | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | +6 | 11 |
| 2 | Công an Hà Nội | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | +5 | 10 |
| 3 | Ninh Bình | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | +5 | 10 |
| 4 | Nam Định | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | +3 | 7 |
| 12 | Đà Nẵng | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -5 | 3 |
| 13 | HAGL | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -6 | 3 |
| 14 | Đồng Nai | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -6 | 1 |
Source: Sportmonks, after the games of 23 October 2026. Bongdaplus called SLNA's rise the biggest surprise of the season so far, but the lead is provisional because Ninh Bình, also on 10 points, have a game in hand. SGGP wrote that the fight against relegation seems to have arrived early for HAGL. The table bears that out: one win in five, 13 goals conceded, and only Đồng Nai below them. Their previous outing was a 4-3 defeat at Ninh Bình in round 4.
What comes next
Ninh Bình will host Công An Hồ Chí Minh at 18:00 on 25 October 2026 and would go back above SLNA with a win. In round 6, SLNA will host Công an Hà Nội at Vinh at 18:00 on 31 October 2026, a test Sơn acknowledged while promising his side would keep its momentum, according to Bongda24h. HAGL will visit Bắc Ninh at 18:00 on 30 October 2026.
See the full V.League table and V.League fixtures. Related: our round 5 preview and CAHN's 1-1 draw with Thanh Hóa.
Hoàng Anh Gia Lai0 – 2Sông Lam Nghệ An