KL City booked their place in the 2025/26 Piala Malaysia quarter-finals in dramatic fashion after edging Perak FA 3-2 on aggregate in a thrilling Round of 16 clash at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium.
Facing an uphill task after losing the first leg by two goals, The City Boys delivered a spirited and resilient performance to turn the tie around in front of their home supporters.
KL City head coach entrusted Quincy Kammeraad to marshal the goalmouth, with Paulo Josué wearing the captain’s armband, while Safawi Rasid was handed the role of attacking spearhead. Perak FA, meanwhile, started with Syazwan Syazany between the posts and relied on Daniel Hakimi to lead their forward line.
From the opening whistle, KL City came out aggressively, pushing high and creating early danger through Safawi and Zhafri Yahya as they searched for an aggregate equaliser. Sustained pressure kept Perak pinned back for long spells, energising the home crowd.
Zhafri nearly broke the deadlock in the 25th minute, but his powerful effort was brilliantly parried by Syazwan. Gorka Larrucea also went close late in the first half, though his attempt failed to hit the target as the teams went into the break scoreless.
The tempo lifted further after the restart and KL City were finally rewarded in the 56th minute when Safawi Rasid calmly converted from the penalty spot, cutting Perak’s aggregate lead.
Safawi continued to trouble the Perak defence and nearly doubled his tally in the 76th minute, but his effort drifted wide. Perak, however, remained disciplined at the back as they attempted to see out the tie.
Just when it seemed the visitors would hold on, Paulo Josué produced a moment of magic in the 90th minute, curling home a superb free-kick to level the aggregate score and force extra time.
KL City carried their momentum into the additional period and struck decisively in the 105th minute through Nicolao Cardoso, whose powerful finish proved to be the tie-winning goal.
The score remained unchanged until the final whistle, sealing a memorable comeback and sending KL City through to the last eight with a 3-2 aggregate victory.
KL City will now turn their attention to a mouth-watering quarter-final showdown against Terengganu, who had earlier confirmed their progression after defeating UM-Damansara on Friday.
Credir Photo : KL City
