12/05/2026

SPORTS TUESDAY | MAY 12, 2026

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Ruthless and unbeaten Munoz hails JDT’s ‘massive’ character, labels 2026 as strongest season yet

NSC, MPC building future champions

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: West Ham 0 Arsenal 1 (Trossard 83) , Crystal Palace 2 (Sarr 34, Mateta 77) Everton 2 (Tarkowski 6, Beto 47) , Burnley 2 (Anthony 8, Flemming 58) Aston Villa 2 (Barkley 42, Watkins 56) , Nottingham Forest 1 (Anderson 88) Newcastle 1 (Barnes 74). P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 36 24 7 5 68 26 79 Man City 35 22 8 5 72 32 74 Man Utd 36 18 11 7 63 48 65 Liverpool 36 17 8 11 60 48 59 Aston Villa 36 17 8 11 50 46 59 Bournemouth 36 13 16 7 56 52 55 Brighton 36 14 11 11 52 42 53 Brentford 36 14 9 13 52 49 51 Chelsea 36 13 10 13 55 49 49 Everton 36 13 10 13 46 46 49 Fulham 36 14 6 16 44 50 48 Sunderland 36 12 12 12 37 46 48 Newcastle 36 13 7 16 50 52 46 Crystal Palace 35 11 11 13 38 44 44 Nottm Forest 36 11 10 15 45 47 43 Leeds 35 10 13 12 47 52 43 Tottenham 35 9 10 16 45 54 37 West Ham 36 9 9 18 42 62 36 Burnley 36 4 9 23 37 73 21 Wolves 36 3 9 24 25 66 18 LA LIGA: Real Mallorca 1 (Muriqi 45+2) Villarreal 1 (Perez 31-pen), Athletic Bilbao 0 Valencia 1 (Sadiq 72) , Real Oviedo 0 Getafe 0, Barcelona 2 (Rash ford 9, Torres 18) Real Madrid 0. P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 35 30 1 4 91 31 91 Real Madrid 35 24 5 6 70 33 77 Villarreal 35 21 6 8 65 40 69 Atletico 35 19 6 10 58 38 63 Real Betis 35 13 15 7 54 43 54 Celta Vigo 35 13 11 11 49 44 50 Getafe 35 13 6 16 28 36 45 Sociedad 35 11 11 13 54 55 44 with ATM, Akademi Kenegaraan Malaysia and the Anti-Doping Agency of Malaysia (Adamas) is highly significant in strengthen ing the content of this camp,” he said in his speech before officiat ing the Phase 1 Camp for the 2027 Asean Para Games yester day. Also present at the event were MPC president Datuk Seri Megat RESULTS & STANDINGS THE National Sports Council (NSC) and the Malaysian Paralympic Council (MPC) have taken proactive steps to strengthen preparations for national para athletes through the organisation of the three-day Phase 1 Camp for the 2027 Asean Para Games, which began yester day. Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Mordi Bimol said the pro gramme, held at the Paralympic Sports Excellence Centre in Kampung Pandan here, aims to gather athletes for the start of early preparations. He said the Phase 1 camp, involving about 123 athletes and officials from 18 sports, focuses specifically on strengthening mental and physical resilience and character through strategic collaboration with the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) and Akademi Kenegaraan Malaysia. “The strategic cooperation

D. Shahriman Zaharudin and NSC director-general Jefri Ngadirin. Jefri said the second phase of the camp is scheduled to take place next January, while the third phase will be held in July after the final contingent list is finalised by the MPC and NSC. According to him, the Phase 1 camp was designed to ensure athletes are better prepared men tally and physically, apart from addressing resilience issues that have often been raised during previous post-mortem sessions. “As I mentioned earlier, the Malaysian Armed Forces and Akademi Kenegaraan Malaysia are assisting in terms of nation hood and resilience modules. “These are among the funda mental issues that frequently arise in post-mortem sessions and we hope that with the involve ment of both agencies, the mat ters can be comprehensively resolved once and for all,” he said. Among the 18 sports involved in the Phase 1 camp are para taek wondo, para cycling, para fencing, para athletics, para swimming, para judo, para badminton, pow erlifting, para archery, para shoot ing and boccia. The 2027 Asean Para Games is scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur from Oct 17 to 23, 2027. – Bernama

J OHOR Darul Ta’zim (JDT) head coach Xisco Munoz has described the 2026 Super League campaign as the club’s strongest in recent years after successfully concluding the season with a historic 108-match unbeaten streak. Speaking to the media after a record-breaking 14-1 demolition of Kelantan’s The Real Warriors FC at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium (SSI) on Sunday night, Munoz emphasised that he was more impressed by the character and relentless intensity shown by his players than the staggering scoreline itself. “Tonight I enjoyed it, but I didn’t enjoy the result because the result is only a number. What I enjoyed

overturn the first-leg deficit. “We need to learn from our mistakes and go there with the absolute belief that we can change the outcome. “We must be stronger in the final third and control the ‘mature moments’ of the game. “If anyone can change the situation, it is JDT,” he said. JDT made history this season by officially setting the record for the largest winning margin in the history of the Malaysia Super League with the 14-1 victory. The result also matches the world record for most unbeaten league matches of 108 matches held by the Ivory Coast club ASEC Mimosas since 1994. Elswhere, Negeri Sembilan FC managed to hold Kuala Lumpur City FC to a dramatic 2-2 draw at Kuala Lumpur, Football Stadium in Cheras. The visitors scored first through a penalty by team cap tain Ahmad Khuzaimi Piee in the 16th minute only to allow KL City to claw their way back in the 25th minute when Victor Ruiz Abril quickly pounced on a loose ball off his penalty shot blocked by goalkeeper Muhammad Azri Abdul Ghani. KL City then went ahead in the 39th minute when Nicolao Manuel Dumitru Cardoso tucked in a cross by teammate Victor Ruiz Abril and continued to hold the lead for the better part of the second half. A collision between KL City team captain Giancarlo Gallifuoco and Joseph Esso in the 80th minute led to a red card for KL City assistant head coach Prijaca Edin by the assistant refe ree while the referee was con ducting a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review. The review led to a penalty awarded to Negeri Sembilan FC, which was successfully converted by Aday Ali Abdulraheem Kharroub in the 81st minute to tie the match at 2-2. Tensions were still high and KL City head coach Vidakovic Savic Risto ended up with a red card as well in the 83rd minute for issuing orders from the sidelines, but the match ended in a 2-2 draw. – Bernama

was the capacity of our players to fight until the 95th minute. This is the mentality we want because it is the only way to improve for our next challenges,” he said. The Spanish tacti cian also paid high tribute to the club’s owner, the Regent of

JDT’s Bergson da Silva celebrates after scoring against Kelantan at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Johor on Sunday. – BERNAMAPIC

Johor Tunku Mahkota Ismail, cit ing his leadership as the corner stone of the team’s unprece dented consistency. “I am proud of the Boss (Tunku Mahkota Ismail) because he is number one in these situa tions. He shows us the way and always provides the right solu tions whenever we encounter hurdles,” Munoz added. Regarding individual perform ances, Munoz expressed satisfac tion with the contribution of mid fielder Hong Wan, who delivered a high-level performance despite having been sidelined for a month due to injury. He also noted that Bergson Da Silva’s prolific scoring – bagging a double hattrick on Sunday to total 27 league goals – is a testament to the striker’s enduring quality. Looking ahead to the Asean Club Championship semifinal return leg against Buriram United FC at Chang Arena, Thailand, this May 13, Munoz demanded a “mature performance” from the Southern Tigers as they seek to

Freiburg 2.

Bilbao

35 13 5 17 40 51 44 35 11 9 15 42 45 42 34 10 12 12 35 41 42 35 11 9 15 38 50 42 35 11 7 17 43 56 40 35 10 9 16 38 53 39 35 10 9 17 43 51 39 35 9 12 14 46 54 39 34 9 11 14 36 51 38 35 9 10 16 41 54 37 35 9 9 17 41 57 36

Osasuna Vallecano Valencia Espanyol Mallorca Elche Girona Alaves Levante Oviedo Sevilla

P W D L F A Pts 33 27 5 1 117 35 86 33 21 7 5 68 34 70 33 20 5 8 65 43 65 33 18 7 8 69 47 61 33 18 7 8 65 48 61 33 17 7 9 67 46 58 33 12 8 13 47 56 44 33 11 10 12 59 63 43 33 12 7 14 45 57 43 33 9 10 14 42 53 37 33 9 10 14 39 53 37 33 9 9 15 40 58 36 33 8 11 14 38 53 35 33 7 11 15 48 58 32 33 8 8 17 37 58 32 33 6 8 19 42 68 26 33 6 8 19 41 70 26

B. Munich Dortmund RB Leipzig Stuttgart Hoffenheim Leverkusen Freiburg Frankfurt Augsburg Union Berlin M’gladbach Cologne W Bremen Wolfsburg Heidenheim Mainz Hamburg

35 6 11 18 26 54 29 SERIE A: Cremonese 3 (Vardy 31, Bonaz zoli 51, Okereke 86) Pisa 0, Fiorentina 0 Genoa 0, AC Milan 2 (Pavlovic 88, Nkunku 90+4-pen) Atalanta 3 (Ederson 7, Zappacosta 29, Raspadori 52) , Parma 2 (Strefezza 47, Keita 87) Roma 3 (Malen 22, 90+11-pen, Rensch 90+4) , Verona 0 Como 1 (Douvikas 71). P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 36 27 4 5 85 31 85 Napoli 35 21 7 7 52 33 70 Juventus 36 19 11 6 59 30 68 AC Milan 36 19 10 7 50 32 67 Roma 36 21 4 11 55 31 67 Como 36 18 11 7 60 28 65 Atalanta 36 15 13 8 50 34 58 Lazio 36 13 12 11 39 37 51 Udinese 36 14 8 14 45 46 50 Bologna 35 14 7 14 42 41 49 Sassuolo 36 14 7 15 44 46 49 Torino 36 12 8 16 41 59 44 Parma 36 10 12 14 27 45 42 Genoa 36 10 11 15 40 48 41 Fiorentina 36 8 14 14 38 49 38 Cagliari 36 9 10 17 36 51 37 Lecce 36 8 8 20 24 48 32 Cremonese 36 7 10 19 30 53 31 Verona 36 3 11 22 24 58 20 Pisa 36 2 12 22 25 66 18 BUNDESLIGA: Mainz 1 Union Berlin 3, Cologne 1 Heidenheim 3, Hamburg 3

St Pauli 33 6 8 19 28 57 26 FRENCH LIGUE 1: Angers 1 Strasbourg 1, Auxerre 2 Nice 1, Le Havre 0 Marseille 1, Metz 0 Lorient 4, Monaco 0 Lille 1, Paris Saint-Germain 1 Brest 0, Rennes 2 Paris FC 1, Toulouse 2 Lyon 1. P W D L F A Pts Paris SG 32 23 4 5 71 27 73 Lens 32 21 4 7 62 33 67 Lille 33 18 7 8 52 35 61 Lyon 33 18 6 9 53 36 60 Rennes 33 17 8 8 58 47 59 Marseille 33 17 5 11 60 44 56 Monaco 33 16 6 11 56 49 54 Strasbourg 32 13 8 11 51 42 47 Lorient 33 11 12 10 48 49 45 Toulouse 33 12 8 13 47 46 44 Paris FC 33 10 11 12 45 49 41 Brest 32 10 8 14 41 52 38 Angers 33 9 8 16 28 47 35 Le Havre 33 6 14 13 30 44 32 Auxerre 33 7 10 16 32 44 31 Nice 33 7 10 16 37 60 31 Nantes 33 5 8 20 29 52 23 Metz 33 3 7 23 32 76 16

Sivasangari storms into World Championships last 16

MALAYSIA’S women’s squash player S. Sivasangari cruised into the third round of the World Championships in Giza, Egypt, after beating compatriot Aira Azman in round 2 in straight-set games on Sunday. The tournament’s fifth seed took just 24 minutes to win 11-4, 11-9, 12-10 against the 19th seed, top

extending her unbeaten run over Aira to five matches. Sivasangari will face Belgium’s Tinne Gilis in the third round. Gilis advanced after beating another Malaysian player, Aifa Azman, 11 7, 11-6, 11-3 in 25 minutes. She defeated Gilis at the Cincinnati Gaynor Cup in 2022 and the Grasshopper Cup in 2025. – Bernama

CHAMPIONS

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