Match Report: Selangor 5-2 Pahang Rangers, Final 2nd Leg (2-1 After Extra Time)
Syahir Iqbal scored a hat-trick, the third in the last minute of extra time, as Selangor came back from their first-leg defeat to beat Pahang Rangers and win the MPFL 2026 title at KOMBES.
Selangor are the MPFL 2026 champions. Edgar Baldasso's side beat Pahang Rangers 5-2 in the second leg of the final at KOMBES, Shah Alam, to force extra time, then won it 2-1, Syahir Iqbal completing his hat-trick in the last minute to settle the title.
A week earlier Pahang had ended Selangor's unbeaten season with a 4-3 win in Kuantan, and they came to Shah Alam needing only a draw. The final is decided on points, not goal aggregate, so a Selangor win by any margin would level the tie at three points each and take it to extra time. Selangor had that win in sight inside 14 minutes.
Four goals in six minutes
Pahang started brightly. Rodrigo Da Silva tested Selangor early, and in the 7th minute Felipe De Souza drove past two defenders and forced a sharp save from Muhammad Syawal. A minute later Selangor were ahead, Syahir Iqbal finishing a move from Muhammad Faris.
Captain Mohd Khairul made it 2-0 in the 9th minute after Evandro Borges and Marlon had worked the opening. Eloy Alonso called a timeout, but Syahir scored again almost as soon as play restarted, Selangor's third goal in under two minutes of playing time.
The temperature rose with it. A scuffle between players in the 11th minute brought a yellow card for Evandro, and the officials needed time to settle a row on the touchline that drew in Baldasso before play went on. Muhamad Razin had already been booked for Pahang in the 8th minute.
Evandro made it 4-0 in the 14th minute with a finish the commentators called close to perfect, after Pahang goalkeeper Mohd Afiq had been caught high up the court. Pahang went to the flying goalkeeper soon after and it brought a reply in the 17th minute, Felipe De Souza scoring from a tight angle. Selangor lost Marlon to lengthy treatment after a collision in the 15th minute, and Mohd Khairul hit the post just before half-time, which came at 4-1.
Selangor hold the line
Pahang kept the flying goalkeeper on after the break and Selangor punished it again. Evandro's pass sent Mohd Khairul through for his second in the 23rd minute, and at 5-1 the home side sat deep and waited for the counter.
They could have had more. Khairul hit the crossbar in the 28th minute and the post again in the 33rd, while Pahang's Hamdin Zarif missed a good chance in front of goal in the 32nd. Pahang kept the ball through Rodrigo, Felipe and captain Akmarulnizam but did not break through until the final minute, when Muhammad Sirhan scored to make it 5-2.
The goal changed nothing. Selangor had won the leg, each side had three points, and the final went to two five-minute periods of extra time, with neither leg's score carried into it.
Extra time
Pahang came closest in the first period, Rodrigo hitting the crossbar from a Muhamad Razin corner in the 43rd minute. It finished goalless amid more arguments and bookings, Muhammad Sirhan in the 45th minute and Muhammad Syarifuddin in the 46th for a foul on Mohd Khairul.
A minute later Marlon, back after his first-half knock, put Selangor ahead in extra time. Pahang went straight back to the flying goalkeeper and Muhamad Razin levelled in the 48th minute. With a minute and a half left and the extra-time score at 1-1, Selangor goalkeeper Muhammad Syaifuddin punched away a cross meant for Razin's head, and penalties were close.
Syahir decided it in the 50th minute. Evandro found him in the middle, he got away from Muhammad Sirhan and scored his third of the night. Syahir and Muhammad Syawal were both booked in the last minute, Rodrigo fired wide as Pahang pushed, and Evandro blocked the final shot before the whistle.
The season
Selangor won 19 of their 20 matches this season. The only defeat was the first leg in Kuantan, after 16 straight wins through the regular season, which they finished 8 points clear at the top of the table, and the semi-finals. Syahir, named Player of the Match, finishes on 21 goals for the season and Mohd Khairul on 17.
Pahang finished third in the regular season and reached the final by beating ATM and Johor Darul Ta'zim, then became the only side to beat Selangor this season. Felipe De Souza ends it as the league's top scorer with 39 goals, three ahead of Selangor's Marlon.
Baldasso's side lifted the trophy at KOMBES in front of their own supporters, a week after losing in Kuantan.
Match facts
- Final, 2nd leg: Selangor 5-2 Pahang Rangers (half-time 4-1), extra time 2-1
- Final, 1st leg: Pahang Rangers 4-3 Selangor
- Selangor goals: Syahir Iqbal 8', 10', 50'; Mohd Khairul 9', 23'; Evandro Borges 14'; Marlon 47'
- Pahang Rangers goals: Felipe De Souza 17'; Muhammad Sirhan 40'; Muhamad Razin 48'
- Yellow cards: Evandro Borges 11', Syahir Iqbal 50', Muhammad Syawal 50' (Selangor); Muhamad Razin 8', Muhammad Sirhan 45', Muhammad Syarifuddin 46' (Pahang Rangers)
- Selangor starting five: Muhammad Syawal (GK), Mohd Khairul (captain), Syahir Iqbal, Marlon, Evandro Borges
- Pahang Rangers starting five: Mohd Afiq (GK), Akmarulnizam (captain), Muhammad Sirhan, Rodrigo Da Silva, Felipe De Souza
- Player of the Match: Syahir Iqbal (Selangor)
- Referee: Helday Idang
- Venue: KOMBES, Shah Alam, Saturday 31 October 2026
