02/05/2026

SPORTS SATURDAY | MAY 2, 2026

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F OR all the talk of Arsenal having blown their Premier League title hopes after being reeled in by Manchester City, the truth is that come tomorrow they could have re established a six-point lead to pile the pressure on Pep Guardiola’s side. City’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on April 29 meant that having trailed by 10 points a few weeks earlier, they knocked Mikel Arteta’s side off the summit for the first time since October. Momentum appeared to have shifted com pletely but the fixture schedule may have come to Arsenal’s rescue as they try to clinch a first English crown since 2004. With City otherwise engaged in FA Cup semifi nal action last weekend, Arsenal ground out a 1-0 home win over Newcastle United to end a four match losing streak in domestic competitions. Tomorrow they host London rivals Fulham while City do not play again in the league until Monday when they face a tough-looking trip to European-chasing Everton. While City would have two games in hand before they kick off at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, the prospect of again having to make up a six-point gap with absolutely no margin for error would be a serious test of their resolve. According to data analysts Opta , Arsenal are still favourites to end the season on top – but that

Title race not over Arsenal have chance to crank up title pressure on City

EPL FIXTURES

All matches at 10pm Malaysian time unless stated. TODAY

league game at home to Brentford comes the day before Arsenal’s trip to West Ham United, a fixture being described as Arsenal’s toughest in the run-in. While in the words of former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, it is “squeaky bum” time at the top, at the bottom things are equally twitchy as Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham appear to be in a two-horse race to avoid relega tion. West Ham travel to Brentford today with the chance to put a five-point gap between themselves and third-from-bottom Tottenham who would then be under enormous pressure to respond at fifth-placed Aston Villa on Monday. What Roberto De Zerbi’s side would give for a repeat of the 4-0 wins Tottenham enjoyed at Villa Park in 2022 and 2024 in their bid to avoid a first relegation since 1977. Worryingly though, the Londoners have lost their last four against Villa in all competitions. – Reuters

could all change if they stumble against Marco Silva’s Fulham. Sitting in 10th place with four games, Fulham are still very much in the hunt for European quali fication and will be looking to exploit any Arsenal fatigue after Arteta’s side’s 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semis on Thursday. “We will go there with no fear, and play for the badge,” Fulham midfielder Josh King said. History will be a considerable comfort, however, to Arsenal fans struggling to cope with the title-race tension. Fulham have played 32 times away to Arsenal in all competitions and never won. City’s record at Everton is equally impressive though, losing none of their last 18 in all competi tions and winning 15 of them and drawing three. Whatever the outcome of Arsenal’s derby with Fulham, a City win at Everton would then give them the chance to crank up the pressure as their next

Brentford vs West Ham Newcastle vs Brighton Wolves vs Sunderland

TOMORROW Arsenal vs Fulham (12.30am) Bournemouth vs Palace (9pm) Man Utd vs Liverpool (10.30pm) MONDAY Aston Villa vs Tottenham (2am) Chelsea vs Nottm Forest

TUESDAY Everton vs Man City (3am)

Malaysia outclassed in Horsens

YOUNG national sprinter, Izzatul Musfirah Ahmad Kamal Azira, breathed a sigh of relief when the 2026 Malaysia Games (Sukma) are to proceed, thus rekindling her enthusiasm to make up for the disappointment of the previous edition. The 18-year-old athlete said Sukma remains her main target this season, with the mission of chasing the title of sprint queen after only bringing home SEVEN Malaysia League clubs have completed document submissions for the national and Asian Football Confderation (AFC) licences by the final date set, April 30. First Instance Body (FIB) chair man Sheikh Mohd Nasir Sheikh Mohd Sharif said besides the seven clubs – Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) FC, Selangor FC, Sabah FC, Terengganu FC, Penang FC, Kuching City FC, and Negeri Sembilan FC – it has also received applications for national licences from Imigresen FC, Kuala Lumpur City FC, Melaka FC, PDRM FC and Kelantan The Real Warriors FC. “There are several clubs that requested time extension to com plete the documentation for their licences,” he said in a statement yes terday. He added that four Amateur Football League (AFL) A1 League clubs – Armed Forces FC, Bunga Raya FC, Kelantan Red Warrior FC and UM Damansara United FC – have applied for Extraordinary National Licences, and that there were also other clubs that requested time extensions to com plete their doucmentation. “The FIB has agreed to set May 14, 2026 as the final date of submis sions for the 2025/26 cycle to for the completion of licence docu mentation for clubs that have yet to complete their applications. “DPMM FC is a foreign club from Brunei Darussalam that takes part in the Malaysia League by invita tion. As such, the club is not sub jected to the need to apply for a national licence as its status is that of an invited team,” he said. – Bernama Clubs face licensing crunch

Jonassen calls out passive mindset

she said. According to her, to prepare for Sukma, she will participate in several series of tournaments including the Malaysia Open to realise her dreams. The 22nd edition of Sukma is sched uled to take place from Aug 15 to 24 with 474 events from 37 types of sports being competed in nine districts involving 52 venues while Para Sukma is from Sept 5 to 10. – Bernama in cruise control, national second singles Justin Hoh was unable to force a comeback, as he found world No. 7 Li Shi Feng a tough nut to crack, with the latter sealing the tie 21-14, 21-13 in 44-minutes and thus booked their place in the last four. The result also meant Malaysia, who finished as Group B runners-up, were unable to end their 24-year long wait for another win over China in the competition. – Bernama MALAYSIA’S bid to end 34-year drought of lifting the Thomas Cup during the 2026 edition came to a halt following a 0-3 defeat to the defending champions in the quar terfinals at Forum Horsens yester day. After sitting out China’s two Group A matches, world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi returned in style, overcoming Malaysia’s top men’s singles player Leong Jun Hao 21-10, 16-21, 21-9 in a 67-minute match, to set the 11 time champions on the road to vic tory. Malaysia looked to their trusted pair and world No. 2, Aaron Chia Soh Wooi Yik to turn the tide around, and for a moment, it seemed possible. The 2022 men’s doubles world champions pushed world No. 5 duo Liang Wei Keng Wang Chang to the brink in a tense opening set, only to see it slip 22-24. From there, the momentum swung decisively, and the Malaysians fell 14-21 in 35 minutes, which marked their 10th defeat in 13 meetings against the Chinese pair. With China, Group A champions,

National badminton singles director Kenneth Jonassen. – BERNAMAPIC

two silver medals in the 100m and 200m events at the Sarawak 2024 edi tion. “For me, I am also quite relieved because there are no delays or any thing. “Although it may be organised on a small scale, it is still a very good plat form for me and my friends this year. “Most importantly, my momentum and enthusiasm are still burning for the NATIONAL singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen believes Malaysia’s young squad must take greater ownership of their develop ment following their campaign in the Uber Cup Finals 2026 here. Looking back at the overall per formance of Malaysia especially against top sides China and Japan here, Jonassen pointed out that improvement must come from within, not solely from the coaching bench. While competing against world class opponents had provided invaluable lessons, he also said that players must actively reflect and respond. “The opportunity to play true world-class, which we have done

ough preparations, not only to chase victory, but also create the best time in her career. “Of course I want to win the gold medal which I missed in 2024. If possi ble I want to win gold medals in all the events that I will compete in. “In addition, this year I will also try to record the best time, and will try to break the Sukma championship record in the events that I will participate in,” win over Turkiye before thrashing South Africa 5-0 to confirm their place in the last eight. They finished as Group B runners up following a 4-1 loss to six-time champions Japan. In the meantime, Jonassen said that such exposure should also rein force belief among the players that they are capable of competing at the highest level. “Trust and believe in your own ability is very important, but also need to continually stay hungry for improving yourself. “Not thinking that, just as long as time goes, I will improve. No, I need to commit 100 per cent to the proc ess and believe in the direction I’m going,” he said. – Bernama

Games,” she said when contacted by Bernama yesterday. Izzatul added that Sukma remains her main target this season, with focus on making up for the disappointment in the last edition after missing out on the opportunity to win gold in two individual sprint events. She said the experience in Sarawak was a big lesson for her and she is now determined to return with more thor against Japan and China today, is that kind of experience which you need to learn from. “You need as a player to learn from these experiences and recog nise which area you need to improve on. Not wait for the coach to tell you what to do,” he said. Malaysia’s journey in the Uber Cup Finals 2026 came to an end as they were eliminated by defending champions China 0-3. This is Malaysia’s quarterfinals appearance for only the fourth time, matching their best-ever achieve ment in the competition after previ ous appearances in 2004, 2008 and 2010. The national team had opened their Group B campaign with a 3-2

Izzatul eyes gold after settling for silver last edition