Mid-Season Report: Kuala Lumpur City
KL City have been the great inconsistents of the 2026 season, capable of brilliant moments but unable to string enough of them together. With five circuits to play, the top three remain within reach.
Jerry Dinesh Pireira's side have been the MPFL 2026's great inconsistents, capable of brilliant moments but unable to string enough of them together. The 5-5 draw with ATM in Circuit 3, a match KL City led 5-3 with ten minutes remaining, is the image that best captures a side still searching for the mental strength to match their technical quality.
The 8-0 defeat to JDT in Circuit 2 was as heavy a loss as any team has suffered this season against the defending champions, and it seemed to set the tone for a difficult middle stretch of the campaign. But KL City have shown resilience. Back-to-back wins in Circuit 4, a 3-2 victory over USM followed by a 5-2 win away at Terengganu, lifted them above ATM into fourth place, their best league position of the season.
Daniel Almeida has been the player of the Circuit 4 weekend, earning back-to-back MVP awards and a place in the Team of the Circuit. The Brazilian has brought a calmness and a clinical edge to KL City's attack that had been missing in the earlier circuits. Dinesh Kumar has contributed nine goals across the campaign and remains one of the league's better Malaysian players. Goalkeeper Arif Alias was named Circuit 4's best keeper.
Jerry Dinesh's side finished outside the top four in both 2024 and 2025 after early-season struggles, and there is a familiar pattern emerging. The difference in 2026 is that the gap to the teams above them remains small enough to bridge. Eleven points from eight matches, with five circuits to play and the top three within reach, is not a position to abandon. KL City are not done yet.
