03/02/2026

SPORTS TUESDAY | FEB 3, 2026

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Faisal Halim saves Red Giants

MOHAMAD FAISAL Abdul Halim saved Selangor FC the blushes when he scored his team’s solitary goal to eke out a 1-1 draw against Terengganu FC (TFC) at Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu on Sunday night. Terengganu scored first through their team captain Raianderson Da Costa in the 43rd minute, but Faisal Halim equalised in the 58th minute. TFC could not capitalise on Selangor FC playing with 10 men when Hugo Boumous was shown a red card in the 72nd minute, and the Red

the final whistle. “From what I saw, the players are still facing the same issue – creating many chances, especially in the second half, but failing to turn them into goals,” he told reporters after the match. Meanwhile, Selangor FC head coach Kim Pan Gon said he was proud of his players for not giving up and continuing to fight despite having to play the second half with 10 men. He said he was still satisfied with the single

Giants escaped with their single point at the end of the match. TFC remains fifth in league standings with 25 points. Turtles acting head coach Tengku Hazman Raja Hassan lamented his team’s poor finishing proved and said the issue continued to plague his players, resulting in more dropped points at home. However, the Kelantan-born coach said that overall, he was satisfied with the performance and fighting spirit shown by his players right until

point, although the initial target had been to bring home all three points. “We had a very tough game. Terengganu started better and the players were very aggressive and strong. But in the second half, even with 10 players, we created some chances. I am very proud of my players,” he said. Selangor FC are currently second in the Super League standings behind Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) while TFC are fifth with 25 points from 16 matches. – Bernama

JDT extend winning streak Coach Munoz wants better finishing despite scoring five past Imigresen FC S UPER LEAGUE leaders Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) extended their winning streak with a 5-0 win over Imigresen FC (IFC) in their 2025/2026 Super League match at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri, Johor on Sunday night. JDT now have 48 points after 16 matches, 16 points ahead of second-placed Selangor FC. Southern Tigers’s head coach Xisco Munoz admitted his team faced an early challenge from Imigresen FC’s deep defensive line. “We created many chances and we should have scored more goals. We need to be more dan gerous in the final third and more efficient in the final actions,” he said.

RESULTS & STANDINGS

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Aston Villa 0 B rentford 1 (Ouattara 45+1) , Manchester United 3 (Casemiro 19, Cunha 56, Sesko 90+4) Fulham 2 (Jime nez 85-pen, Kevin 90+2) , Nottingham Forest 1 (Gibbs-White 5) Crystal Palace 1 (Sarr 45+2-pen) , Tottenham 2 (Solanke 53, 70) Manchester City 2 (Cherki 11, Semenyo 44) . P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 24 16 5 3 46 17 53 Man City 24 14 5 5 49 23 47 Aston Villa 24 14 4 6 35 26 46 Man Utd 24 11 8 5 44 36 41 Chelsea 24 11 7 6 42 27 40 Liverpool 24 11 6 7 39 33 39 Brentford 24 11 3 10 36 32 36 Fulham 24 10 4 10 34 35 34 Everton 24 9 7 8 26 27 34 Newcastle 24 9 6 9 33 33 33 Sunderland 23 8 9 6 24 26 33 Bournemouth 24 8 9 7 40 43 33 Brighton 24 7 10 7 34 32 31 Tottenham 24 7 8 9 35 33 29 Palace 24 7 8 9 25 29 29 Leeds 24 6 8 1031 42 26 Nottm Forest 24 7 5 12 24 35 26 West Ham 24 5 5 1429 48 20 Burnley 23 3 6 1425 44 15 Wolves 24 1 5 1815 45 8 LA LIGA: Real Madrid 2 (Vinicius 15, Mbappe 90+10-pen) Rayo Vallecano 1 (De Frutos 49) , Real B etis 2 (Avila 23 pen, Fornals 88) Valencia 1 (Rioja 20) , Getafe 0 Celta Vigo 0, Athletic B ilbao 1 (Ruiz de Galarreta 88) Real Sociedad 1 (Guedes 37) . Top 5 P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 22 18 1 3 60 23 55 Real Madrid 22 17 3 2 47 18 54 Atleti 22 13 6 3 38 17 45 Villarreal 21 13 3 5 39 23 42 Real Betis 22 9 8 5 36 28 35 SERIE A: Como 0 Atalanta 0, Cremonese 0 Inter Milan 2 (Martinez 16, Zielinski 31) , Parma 1 (Cambiaso 51 og) Juventus 4 (Bremer 15, 54, McKen nie 37, David 64) , Torino 1 (Adams 29) Lecce 0. Top 5 P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 23 18 1 4 52 19 55 AC Milan 22 13 8 1 35 17 47 Napoli 23 14 4 5 33 21 46 Juventus 23 13 6 4 39 18 45 Roma 22 14 1 7 27 13 43 B UNDESLIGA: Borussia Dortmund 3 Heidenheim 2, Stuttgart 1 Freiburg 0. Top 5 P W D L F A Pts Bayern 20 16 3 1 74 18 51 Dortmund 20 13 6 1 41 19 45 Hoffenheim 20 13 3 4 43 23 42 Stuttgart 20 12 3 5 37 26 39 RB Leipzig 20 11 3 6 38 27 36 Leverkusen 19 11 2 6 38 26 35 FRENCH LIGUE 1: Lyon 1 Lille 0, Angers 1 Metz 0, Nice 2 Brest 2, Toulouse 0 Auxerre 0, Strasbourg 1 Paris SG 2. Top 5 P W D L F A Pts Paris SG 20 15 3 2 43 16 48 Lens 20 15 1 4 34 16 46 Marseille 20 12 3 5 46 22 39 Lyon 20 12 3 5 33 20 39 Lille 20 10 2 8 34 30 32

The Spaniard praised the contributions of all players and welcomed the return of key figures like Hector Hevel and Figueiredo, noting their presence has strengthened the squad. However, he cautioned that they must be managed carefully after long spells out due to injury. Looking ahead, Xisco stressed the importance of maintaining focus and intensity as JDT face a congested fixture schedule, with up to eight matches in 28 days, including continental com mitments. “We have many matches in a short period, with long travels and tough opponents. Rotation will be important because it is impossible for players to perform at the same level every three days with travel involved. “Our target is always three points. When you wear the JDT shirt, the objective is to win and to stay at the top. We must keep our ambition, our power and continue to grow as a team every day,” he said. Meanwhile, Imigresen FC coach Yusri Che Lah lamented his team’s inability to last the full 90 minutes against JDT, despite a solid first-half defensive effort. “We knew it would be tough, so the priority was to manage the goal difference. Getting two goals was a small positive,” he said. He cited fatigue and lapses in concentration against JDT’s relentless attack as decisive factors, admitting the team also missed key chances to change the game’s dynamic. As newly promoted debutants in the Super League, Yusri insisted his squad must find a way to bounce back quickly. – Bernama

“The first part of the game was more difficult because they defended very deeply and closed the spaces in the final third. “After we scored the first and second goals, we had more space and controlled the game,” he said at a post-match press conference. Despite dominating possession and creating numerous opportunities, Xisco said his team must improve its finishing.

The Southern Tigers went 1-0 with a 21st min ute strike by Joao Figueiredo in the first half, while a mistake by Imigresen defender Milani Bueno resulted in an own goal in the 59th minute. Bergson Da Silva scored JDT’s third goal a minute later, Marcos Guilherme scored in the 66th minute and Da Silva wrapped the match up with the fifth goal in injury time.

JDT’s Diaz Martin (left) is challenged by Imigresen’s Fadzrul Danel during yesterday’s Malaysia Super League match at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium. – BERNAMAPIC

SHORTS

arrears issue. The team currently sit in 10th place in the 2025/2026 Super League stand ings with 15 points from 16 matches. National futsal squad suffer heavy defeat THE national futsal squad concluded their Asia Futsal Cup 2026 campaign with a heavy 6-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their final Group D match at the Jakarta International Velodrome in Indonesia on Sunday night. The result saw Malaysia exit the tournament without a win after earlier losses of 4-1 to defending champions Iran and a 7-0 thrashing by Afghanistan in their opening two matches. In Sunday’s encounter, Saudi Arabia, who had also already been eliminated, raced to a 4-0 lead at half time through goals by Fahad Muhalhil Rudayni in the fifth minute, Eihab Mohamed in the eighth and 16th min utes, and Fahad Awadh in the 12th minute. Eihab completed his hattrick with Saudi’s fifth goal in the 23rd minute before Abdullah Mohammed Alaqeeli added the sixth in the 35th minute.

The national side, coached by Addie Azwan Zainal, managed a con solation goal through Awaluddin Mat Nawi in the 39th minute. For the record, this marked the national futsal squad’s first appear ance at the Asia Futsal Cup since last qualifying for the tournament in the 2018 edition held in Taiwan. In 12 appearances since 1999, Malaysia have only competed in the group stage and have yet to advance to the quarterfinals. New league structure for MLBB THE introduction of a partnership based league structure for next sea son’s Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Professional League Malaysia (MPL MY) is expected to better safe guard the welfare of teams and play ers. Former professional MLBB player Faris Zakaria, better known as Soloz, said the new structure is particularly timely as several teams are currently struggling to stay afloat due to the high operational costs of running an esports organisation. “For me, the changes introduced

by MPL MY will certainly secure player welfare. Previously, teams often strug gled financially, as esports requires significant funding. “With this new structure, league organisers will select truly stable teams, particularly from a financial standpoint. This should reduce the risk of competing teams facing money problems in the future,” he said when met recently. It was reported that Aero Esports had been banned for life from partici pating in MPL MY after being found to have outstanding financial arrears dating back to October 2025. The team was also found to have committed several contract breaches during Seasons 15 and 16. Soloz believes the partnership based league structure will make MPL MY more competitive and help nur ture more new talent. “For example, if teams from out side join MPL MY, they are likely to provide more proper facilities than before. “This development will indirectly make the league more competitive and encourage healthy growth. It could also help produce more skilled players in the future,” he said.

Real Warriors’ transfer ban lifted

KELANTAN The Real Warriors (TRW) can now breathe a sigh of relief after the Malaysian Football League (MFL) confirmed that the club’s player trans fer ban has been lifted, effective Sunday. In a statement, MFL said it had received notification from the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) confirming that the outstanding wage issues, which were reported to the governing body and also to Fifa, have been successfully resolved by Kelantan TRW. “Meanwhile, the Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia (PFAM) has also officially informed MFL that they have received settle ment agreement documents between 23 players from last season and Kelantan The Real Warriors, thus allowing the player transfer ban to be lifted,” the statement read. Kelantan TRW had previously faced three player transfer bans imposed by FAM, MFL and Fifa follow ing the 2025/2026 season wage