Malaysia captain Dion Cools continued to excel in Thailand as Buriram United recorded a big 5-1 win over Nakhon Ratchasima to open up a three-point lead at the top of the Thai League 1 standings.

Dion’s impact was felt as early as the eighth minute when his corner was headed in by Chrigor, before Supachai Jaided doubled Buriram’s tally going into the break.

Chrigor picked up his second with an effort in the 65th minute, with Deyvison Fernandes pulling one back for Ratchasima in the 81st minute.

Buriram upped the ante with Dion scoring the fourth in the 83rd before Athit Berg converted a spot-kick in stoppage time to seal the comfortable win. 

Chiangrai United boosted confidence with a 3-1 win over Muangthong United.

Kuala Lumpur City FC skipper Brendan Gan denied JDT a chance to take home a comfortable advantage after restricting the Southern Tigers to a 2-1 win in the first leg of the Malaysia Cup quarter-finals.

Bergson set the tone with a calm finish in the 33rd minute before Heberty doubled their tally in the 79th, only for Gan to pull one back in the closing stages with a brilliant scissor kick past JDT goalkeeper Syihan Hazmi.

Terengganu FC have one foot in the semi-finals after comfortably beating Negeri Sembilan FC 2-0, while Farhan Roslan turned hero for Sabah, scoring the winner in a 1-0 victory over Kuching City.

Persib Bandung registered their third win in a row to remain unbeaten in Liga 1, with their 2-0 defeat of Malut United moving them to 29 points.

The defending champions, who have two games in hand, cut down Persebaya Surabaya’s lead to five points after the leaders were held 0-0 by Semen Padang.

Borneo FC are three points adrift after Habibi Jusuf’s double helped steer the club back to winning ways following their 5-0 triumph against Madura United, while Persija United lost ground after slumping to a 3-1 defeat to Bali United.

Adelaide United are within two points of the summit after producing an impressive 4-0 win against Central Coast Mariners, snapping a five-year drought against the defending champions.

The result saw Auckland’s lead slashed after their 2-2 draw against Melbourne City.

Macarthur improved to fifth place after seeing off Wellington Phoenix 2-1, Western United came out on top in a thrilling seven-goal thriller against Sydney FC, Western Sydney and Brisbane Roar shared the spoils in a 2-2 stalemate, while Newcastle Jets hit four past Perth Glory.