Nam Dinh continued their dominant form with a resounding 6-1 victory over Hoang Anh Gia Lai, maintaining their five-point lead at the top of the V.League 1 standings. Gia Lai, meanwhile, dropped to eighth following the heavy defeat.

Duc Huy Ngo opened the scoring in the fifth minute before Jairo Rodrigues equalised for Gia Lai with a 12th-minute penalty.

Nam Dinh quickly regained control as Caio Cesar restored their lead in the 23rd minute. Nguyen Van Toan and Brenner then struck in quick succession in the 34th and 38th minutes to put the game beyond doubt.

Brenner added his second early in the second half, and Nguyen Tuan Anh capped off the dominant display in the 82nd minute.

Elsewhere, Viettel were held to a 2-2 draw by Khanh Hoa, Da Nang edged Quang Nam 1-0 and Thanh Hoa fell 2-1 at home to Hai Phong.

Melbourne City FC took a firm grip on their A League semi-final with a 3-0 win against Western United in their first leg tie on Friday.

In the other last four tie, Auckland FC edged Melbourne Victory 1-0.

Melbourne City took the lead in the 16th minute through Germán Ferreyra, with Yonatan Cohen doubling the advantage in the 54th minute.

Mathew Leckie capped off the fine performance with his 72nd minute effort, putting Melbourne City in a commanding position going into Saturday's return leg.

Auckland, meanwhile, secured an away advantage thanks to Logan Rogerson's 64th minute goal.

The sides meet again on Saturday with Victory looking to prevent Auckland FC from completing the double in their debut season.

Newly crowned Liga 1 champions Persib Bandung were held to a 2-2 draw by Persita, who remain in 11th place following the result.

Persib took the early lead in the fourth minute through Ryuji Utomo Prabowo's own goal. Persita equalised just before half-time, with Eber Bessa converting from the penalty spot.

Tyronne restored Persib’s advantage two minutes into the second half, but Ryuji made up for his earlier mistake by scoring a dramatic equaliser in stoppage time to rescue a point for Persita.

Dewa United still have a bit of work to do to confirm second place after they were held 1-1 by Persis Solo, giving them just a two-point advantage over Malut United, who cruised 5-1 past PSIS Semarang to move up to 56 points with just one matchday remaining.

Lion City Sailors FC suffered a 1-0 defeat to Balestier Khalsa on Wednesday, having already clinched the title the previous weekend.

The match was decided by a 31st-minute penalty, confidently converted by Kodai Tanaka as Balestier moved up to fourth on 45 points.

In other fixtures, Brunei DPMM edged Tampines Rovers 2-1, Geylang International defeated Young Lions by the same scoreline, and Albirex Niigata cruised to a 5-1 victory over bottom-placed Tanjong Pagar.