15/05/2026

SPORTS FRIDAY | MAY 15, 2026

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Red Giants rise again Selangor storm into Asean Club Championship final, Buriram down JDT S ELANGOR FC advanced to the Asean Club Championship (ACC) 2025/26 final after defeat ing V.League 1 side Nam Dinh FC

RESULTS & STANDINGS

ENGLISH LEAGUE: Manchester City 3 (Semenyo 32, Marmoush 40, Savinho 84) Crystal Palace 0. P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 36 24 7 5 68 26 79 Man City 36 23 8 5 75 32 77 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 Leeds 36 10 14 12 48 53 44 Crystal Palace 36 11 11 14 38 47 44 Nottm Forest 36 11 10 15 45 47 43 Tottenham 36 9 11 16 46 55 38 West Ham 36 9 9 1842 62 36 Burnley 36 4 9 2337 73 21 Wolves 36 3 9 2425 66 18 NOTE: Top five qualify for Champions League, bottom three relegated. SPANISH LA LIGA: Espanyol 2 (Milla 69, Garcia 90+2) Athletic Bilbao 0, Villarreal 2 (Gerard 13, Mikautadze 20) Sevilla 3 (Oso 36, Salas 45+2, Adams 72) , Alaves 1 (Diabate 45+1) Barce lona 0 , Getafe 3 (Satriano 14, 41, Romero 63) Real Mallorca 1 (Mascarell 65). P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 36 30 1 5 91 32 91 Real Madrid 35 24 5 6 70 33 77 Villarreal 36 21 6 9 67 43 69 Atl Madrid 36 20 6 10 60 39 66 Real Betis 36 14 15 7 56 44 57 Celta Vigo 36 13 11 12 51 47 50 Getafe 36 14 6 16 31 37 48 Real Sociedad 35 11 11 13 54 55 44 Ath Bilbao 36 13 5 18 40 53 44 Sevilla 36 12 7 17 46 58 43 Vallecano 35 10 13 12 36 42 43 Osasuna 36 11 9 16 43 47 42 Valencia 35 11 9 15 38 50 42 Espanyol 36 11 9 16 40 53 42 Alaves 36 10 10 16 42 54 40 Elche 36 9 12 15 47 56 39 Mallorca 36 10 9 18 44 54 39 Levante 36 10 9 17 44 59 39 Girona 35 9 12 14 37 52 39 Real Oviedo 35 6 11 18 26 54 29 NOTE: Top five qualify for Champions League; bottom three relegated. FRENCH LIGUE 1: Brest 1 Strasbourg 2, Lens 0 Paris Saint-Germain 2. P W D L F A Pts Paris SG 33 24 4 5 73 27 76 Lens 33 21 4 8 62 35 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 33 14 8 11 53 43 50 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 33 10 8 15 42 54 38 Angers 33 9 8 1628 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 2029 52 23 Metz 33 3 7 2332 76 16 NOTE: Top three qualify directly for Champions League; bottom two rele gated, with team in 16th going into promotion/relegation playoff against club from Ligue 2. ITALIAN CUP (Final) : Inter Milan 2 (Marusic 14og, Martinez 35) Lazio 0. CHAMPIONS RELEGATED PREMIER

Selangor won the first leg semifinal 2 1 at the Petaling Jaya City Council Stadium last week. Awaiting Selangor in the final are defending champions Buriram United, who edged Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) 4-3 on aggregate despite losing 2-1 at home in the second leg semifinal last night. JDT took the lead through Bergson Da Silva’s penalty in stoppage time of the first half after VAR confirmed a collision involving Marcos Guilherme and Buriram goalkeeper Neil Etheridge. Marcos Guilherme later levelled the aggregate score at 3-3 with JDT’s second goal in the 62nd minute. However, Buriram regained the lead in extra-time through Kingsley Schindler before the hosts were reduced to nine men following red cards to Bissoli and Goran Causic. Despite their numerical disadvan tage, Buriram held on to secure a place in the final, with the first leg scheduled for May 20 and the return leg on May 27. JDT head coach Xisco Munoz remained proud that his men were finally able to defeat the Thunder Castle team on their home turf. “This is the first time we have won in the Buriram stronghold, which gives a positive perception,” he said. “What we have learned is that we need to be stronger at home so that we don’t suffer defeat and have to bounce back on away pitches. “But I still take a positive approach because the players have given every thing and it is also an achievement after playing on the Asean club stage for the first time,” he said. JDT owner Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sultan Ibrahim praised his squad and expressed his pride in the fighting spirit displayed by the players, stressing that the team will come back stronger next season. “Well done everyone. Proud of the fighting spirit displayed. We will rise stronger next year. We always do,” said Tunku Mahkota Ismail on the club’s Instagram page. “Congratulations Buriram. Continue to be an inspiration. I learned from you in 2017 when I visited Buriram and will continue to do so. We are a clear exam ple of the spirit and effort to go beyond the limits for a Southeast Asian club in challenging the Asian giants in ACLE. “Good luck and look forward to play ing against you again in the future,” said Tunku Mahkota Ismail. – Bernama/ Agencies

Selangor’s Chrigor Moraes celebrates his first goal during the Asean Club Championship semifinal against Nam Dinh FC on Wednesday. – ASEAN United FC/X

2-0 for a 4-1 aggregate victory in the semifinal second leg at Thien Truong Stadium in Ninh Binh, Vietnam yester day night. Selangor, under head coach Kim Pan Gon, opened the scoring through Chrigor Moraes, who converted a pen alty in the 38th minute after a VAR review confirmed Mitchell Dijks had fouled Mohammad Abualnadi. Nam Dinh thought they had equal ised in the 51st minute through Lam Ti Phong, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Moraes then struck again in the 90th minute to seal Selangor’s victory and confirm the Malaysian side’s place in the final. Pan Gon said the victory reflected the Red Giants’ professionalism and belief in the system the coaching staff have been trying to build since his arri val.

The South Korean tactician described reaching the ACC final in his first season as a special achievement, adding that Selangor are slowly developing their own football identity under his guidance. “I really

respect all our Selangor players. They showed very strong commitment and determi nation and they made us very proud,” said Pan Gon

after the match. “I hope all the Red Giants

supporters are proud of the players. Thank you for the support, not only from those who came here but also those watching back home. To me, this is a big present from the players.” Moraes said the team’s daily hard work was paying off as they moved within one match of regional glory. “I am very happy. It is important for me personally, but what is more impor tant is reaching the final,” he said. “We fought too much for this and worked every day for this specific moment. Now this is our dream and we believe we can become champions.”

Goh-Izzuddin carry nation’s hopes in Thailand

NATIONAL professional men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani emerged as Malaysia’s sole survivors in the Thailand Open 2026 after three other pairs crashed out in the second round at Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok yesterday. Goh-Izzuddin, the world No. 9 and tourna ment third seeds, were made to work hard by China’s Huang Di-Liu Yang before securing a 21 14, 24-22 victory in a 46-minute battle. The Malaysian pair, who won the Indonesia Masters earlier this year, took control from the outset and comfortably claimed the opening game after leading throughout. However, the young Chinese pair showed great resistance in the second game and held four game points at 20-16, only for Goh-Izzuddin to stage a remarkable comeback and seal the match 24-22 to book their place in the quarterfinals. Izzuddin said their performance had improved steadily throughout the tournament and

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty before bowing out 12-21, 19-21 in 44 minutes. Independent pair Chia-Teo also exited the tournament after losing 24-26, 10-21 to Scotland’s Christopher Grimley-Matthew Grimley, while Nur Azriyn-Tan went down 21-13, 20-22, 14 21 to Thailand’s Peeratchai Sukphun-Pakkapon Teeraratsakul in a 65-minute encounter. In the singles on Wednesday night, independ ent shuttlers Lee Zii Jia and Goh Jin Wei both suf fered early exit after losing their respective first round matches. Zii Jia failed to reproduce the impressive form he displayed during the Thomas Cup Finals in Horsens, Denmark, after going down 20-22, 10-21 to Israeli qualifier Daniil Dubovenko. Fellow Malaysian Jin Wei also saw her cam paign come to an early end after putting up a spirited fight against promising young Thai shut tler Yataweemin Ketklieng, losing 21-13, 19-21, 16-21 in an one-hour contest. – Bernama

expressed satisfaction with their display today. “We just focused on our game plan and, after taking the first game, we did not rush to finish the match. Instead, we stayed composed and contin ued to pressure our opponents. “We were trailing by four game points in the second game, but we never gave up. We kept pushing until we earned our own game point and closed out the match,” he told Bernama after their match. Izzuddin added that the pair are now confi dent of mounting a serious challenge for a podium finish at the tournament. Meanwhile, three other Malaysian men’s dou bles pairs – Mohd Haikal Nazri-Bryan Jeremy Goonting, Chia Wei Jie-Teo Ee Yi and Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub-Tan Wee Kiong – all failed to advance after losing their respective second-round matches. The newly formed Haikal-Bryan pairing pushed top seeds and world No. 4 duo