Vietnam were denied an early goal due to offside before Xuan Son forced the Singaporean goalkeeper to work hard to save his eye-catching bicycle kick in the 20th minute.
With time running out, Vietnam intensified their offensive pressure seeking to open the scoring, but missed a bunch of opportunities to break the deadlock.
In the 84th minute, VAR denied Vietnam for the second time as Xuan Son’s fantastic long-range goal was disallowed for handball.
 |
| Forward Xuan Son in action during the match. |
However, it was also Xuan Son who earned Vietnam a penalty eight minutes into stoppage times, and striker Tien Linh comfortably beat the Singaporean goalkeeper from the spot to put Vietnam in front.
Seconds before the final whistle, Xuan Son made it 2-0 for Vietnam with a close-range strike, giving Kim Sang Sik’s a big advantage into the semifinal second leg against Singapore on home field this December 29.
