Final Second Leg: Preview - Selangor v Pahang Rangers

Selangor must win the second leg in Shah Alam on Saturday to keep the MPFL 2026 title alive, while Pahang Rangers need only a draw to take it. The final is decided on points rather than goal aggregate, three for a win and one for a draw. Pahang won the first leg 4-3 and have three points to Selangor's none, so a draw would leave them on four to one. A Selangor win by any margin would level the tie on three points each and send it to extra time and, if needed, penalties, and the first-leg score would count for nothing.

The first leg in Kuantan was open from the start. Evandro Borges put Selangor ahead in the 8th minute, the same minute Pahang's Ahmad Harith was sent off, and Razin Rahim levelled in the 11th, leaving it 1-1 at half-time. Rodrigo Da Silva scored in the 24th minute and Muhammad Syarifuddin in the 26th to make it 3-1, and Felipe De Souza made it 4-1 in the 33rd with a shot from deep in his own half into an empty net. Selangor had sent captain Mohd Khairul forward as a flying goalkeeper, the first time they have used the tactic this season. Marlon scored in the 34th minute and Evandro his second in the 39th, but Selangor could not find an equaliser. Pahang goalkeeper Mohd Afiq Abdul Rahman was named Player of the Match in front of 2,984 supporters.

It was the first time this season that Selangor had lost, after 18 wins from 18, and the first time a side had scored four against them. Until Saturday they had never conceded more than three in a match. They have also scored at least three in every match they have played this season, and did so again.

Edgar Baldasso's side have the better recent record against Pahang. Selangor won both league meetings this season, 5-3 in Kuantan in June and 5-2 in Shah Alam in July, and have won the last three league meetings between the clubs. After the first leg, Baldasso admitted his team started poorly and made defensive errors, and said Pahang deserved to win.

Eloy Alonso's side have won all four of their play-off matches, scoring 21 goals and conceding 10. They have also been in this position before. In the semi-final, JDT won the second leg in normal time, and Pahang still won the tie with two goals in extra time. Pahang's selection will be shaped by whether Ahmad Harith, sent off on Saturday, is available.

Selangor can expect a home crowd to push them from the start. They have to find a way past Afiq and a Pahang team that has now scored four against them, and because only a win will do they will also have to decide how often to risk the flying goalkeeper again. Pahang need only a draw, which puts the pressure to take risks on Selangor.