Thể Công Viettel winless in four V.League rounds despite red cards for all five opponents

Thể Công Viettel have now gone four rounds without a win in LPBank V.League 1 2026/27, even though every one of their five opponents this season has had a player sent off. Tuổi Trẻ called it a strange statistic, published after the 2-2 draw with Bắc Ninh on 23 October 2026. According to Sportmonks data, Velizar Popov's side have 4 points from 5 rounds (one win, one draw, three defeats) and sit 11th. Popov said only around 18 of the 30 players he had planned the season around are available, and that the club is still waiting for paperwork to register striker Rimario as a naturalised player.

Five games, five red cards for the opposition

The table below compiles Tuổi Trẻ's figures, with dates and results from Sportmonks data (H: home, A: away):

Their only win came in round 1, a game in which Thể Công Viettel also had Nhâm Mạnh Dũng sent off in the sixth minute of stoppage time. In round 5, Bắc Ninh were down to ten men from the 90th minute yet still equalised in the tenth minute of added time. Tuổi Trẻ stressed that in the three games where they had an extra man, Thể Công Viettel could not turn the numerical advantage into a win.

Counting the AFC Champions League Two, the number of games in which an opponent was sent off rises to six. In the 0-1 defeat by Persib Bandung in Indonesia on 14 October 2026, Thể Công's Paulinho Curua was dismissed in the 67th minute before Persib's Marc Klok also saw red in the 74th, Tuổi Trẻ noted.

From runners-up to the bottom half

Tuổi Trẻ recalled that Thể Công Viettel are the reigning V.League runners-up, a finish Popov himself delivered last season with a sharp counter-attacking game. They set out to challenge for the title this time, but in the paper's view they are now playing poor football, for many games simply moving the ball wide, looking for crosses and leaving it to their foreign forwards.

Popov said the fixture list was not the issue, Bongdaplus reported, because the club knew the schedule in advance and had prepared for it. Tuổi Trẻ recorded his explanation in more detail: the squad was built with 30 players to cope with several competitions, but only 18 are fit, and several of the injured are important players. According to Bongdaplus, he said half the squad is injured and some players are ill, but he does not want to use that as an excuse. In Tuổi Trẻ's account, Popov insisted that ultimate responsibility lies with him.

On Rimario, Popov said the club is still completing the paperwork and will use the striker once it is done, Bongdaplus reported. He admitted that the timing is out of the club's hands.

A crowded schedule ahead

According to Sportmonks data, Thể Công Viettel are third in AFC Champions League Two Group E with 1 point from two games (a 1-1 draw with Melbourne Victory and the 0-1 loss to Persib), behind Persib (6 points) and Melbourne Victory (4 points) and ahead of Seoul (0 points). Their next fixtures:

Thể Công Viettel will host Seoul at Hàng Đẫy at 19:15 on 28 October 2026, then visit Nam Định at Thiên Trường at 18:00 on 31 October 2026. Nam Định are second on 10 points and beat TP Đồng Nai 4-0 on 24 October 2026, according to Sportmonks data.

For the Bắc Ninh match itself, see Thể Công Viettel 2-2 Bắc Ninh: Brenner equalises in the 90+10th minute; for the Persib game, see Thể Công Viettel lose 0-1 to Persib in a game with two red cards. More in the V.League table and V.League fixtures.