Arif Aiman put in a superb performance to help Johor Darul Ta’zim defeat Kuala Lumpur City 3-0 on Sunday to move closer to retaining their title with the gap with second-placed Sabah FC now at 14 points.

Arif scored an impressive first half hat-trick to keep the Southern Tigers’s unbeaten run intact  with nine rounds of matches remaining.

In other matches, Sabah overcame Gabriel Peres’ second half sending off to secure a 2-1 win over Kuching City FC, Penang FC won 2-0 against PDRM, Terengganu FC defeated Kelantan FC 2-1 while Perak FC and Kedah Darul Aman drew 1-1.

Buriram United produced a fearsome attacking display to win 6-0 against Ratchaburi FC to move back into pole position ahead of Bangkok United.

Guilherme Bissoli took his season tally to 13 goals with a four-goal haul against 10th-placed Ratchaburi as Buriram moved onto 30 points, the same as Bangkok but with a superior goal difference.

In the only other game played this past week, Nakhon Pathom United boosted their relegation fight after a 2-1 win over fellow strugglers Chiangrai United, however, both teams are still mired in the drop zone.

The top of the A-League Men’s table remained the same as Auckland FC and Melbourne Victory both secured home wins to stay within two points of each other.

Auckland won 2-1 against Wellington Phoenix to reach 18 points while Victory are two adrift after their 2-0 success against Perth Glory.

Adelaide United had Ben Folami sent off in the 64th minute but held on to Stefan Mauk’s 14th minute goal to seal a 1-0 win over Newcastle Jets to stay third. 

Elsewhere, Melbourne City earned a 4-1 win over Brisbane Roar, Central Coast Mariners defeated Sydney FC 2-1 while Western United were involved in a goalless draw with Macarthur FC.

DPMM FC won their game in hand to climb to the summit of the Super League and open up a two-point gap to Kasuka FC.

DPMM were made to work hard before winning 2-0 against sixth-placed MS PPDB to reach 21 points, maintaining their perfect start to the season.

Persebaya Surabaya were victorious in a thrilling encounter with Arema FC, winning 3-2 with a last-gasp winner coming from Flavio Silva, who converted a penalty in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

The win kept Persebaya six points ahead of Persija Jakarta, themselves 1-0 winners against Semen Padang thanks to a Ryo Matsumura strike in the 67th minute.

Persib Bandung, in third, are in action on Monday with Borneo FC (4th) and PSM Makassar (5th) only managing draws against PSIS Semarang (0-0) and Bali United (1-1) respectively.