# 2021 Malaysia Super League

The 2021 Malaysia Super League (Malay: Liga Super Malaysia 2021), was the 18th season of the Malaysia Super League, the top-tier professional football league in Malaysia.
The defending champions from the 2020 Malaysia Super League season, Johor Darul Ta'zim, have managed to defend their title, securing their 8th consecutive title (since 2014) on 28 August 2021 although having 2 more matches left. On the other hand, Kedah who became the runner-ups have qualified to the 2022 AFC Cup. Penang who got third was a standby team for the AFC Cup and would qualify if the winners of the 2021 Malaysia Cup went to the Johor or Kedah, but they failed to and Kuala Lumpur City who became the champions ended up taking the spot.

## Team changes

The following teams have changed division.
Renamed/Rebranded Clubs
* Kedah FA was renamed as Kedah Darul Aman FC
* Selangor FA was renamed as Selangor FC
* Kuala Lumpur FA was renamed as Kuala Lumpur City FC
* Penang FA was renamed as Penang FC
* Sabah FA was renamed as Sabah FC
* Pahang FA was renamed as Sri Pahang FC
* Perak FA was renamed as Perak FC

## Clubs locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | Iskandar Puteri | Sultan Ibrahim Stadium | 40,000 |
| Kedah Darul Aman | Alor Setar | Darul Aman Stadium | 32,387 |
| Kuala Lumpur City | Kuala Lumpur | Kuala Lumpur Stadium | 18,000 |
| Melaka United | Krubong | Hang Jebat Stadium | 40,000 |
| Penang | Penang | City Stadium | 20,000 |
| Perak | Ipoh | Perak Stadium | 42,500 |
| Petaling Jaya City | Petaling Jaya | Petaling Jaya Stadium | 25,000 |
| Sabah | Kota Kinabalu | Likas Stadium | 35,000 |
| Selangor | Petaling Jaya | Petaling Jaya Stadium | 25,000 |
| Sri Pahang | Kuantan | Darul Makmur Stadium | 40,000 |
| Terengganu | Kuala Terengganu | Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium | 50,000 |
| UiTM | Shah Alam | UiTM Stadium | 10,000 |
| Source: ||||

## Personnel, kit and sponsoring

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Main sponsor |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | Benjamin Mora | Aidil Zafuan | Nike | UNICEF |
| Kedah Darul Aman | Aidil Sharin | Baddrol Bakhtiar | Lotto | Widad Langkasuka |
| Kuala Lumpur City | Bojan Hodak | Paulo Josué | Puma | Kuala Lumpur City |
| Melaka United | Zainal Abidin Hassan | Khairul Fahmi | Al-Ikhsan | EDRA CGN, Mamee |
| Penang | Tomáš Trucha | Endrick | Puma | Penang2030 Archived 2021-06-05 at the Wayback Machine |
| Perak | Shahril Nizam Khalil (caretaker) | Hafizul Hakim | Kaki Jersi | Lenggong Valley (home) & Royal Belum (away) |
| Petaling Jaya City | Maniam Pachaiappan | Gurusamy Kandasamy | Puma | Qnet |
| Sabah | Ong Kim Swee | Rawilson Batuil | Lotto | Warisan Harta Sabah, Sabah Net |
| Selangor | Karsten Neitzel | Syahmi Safari | Joma | PKNS |
| Sri Pahang | Dollah Salleh | Hérold Goulon | Stallion | Aras Kuasa Archived 2021-05-09 at the Wayback Machine |
| Terengganu | Nafuzi Zain | Carli de Murga | Al-Ikhsan | RedONE, Yakult |
| UiTM | Reduan Abdullah | Victor Nirennold | Puma (home & away) & Fitech (third) | MBSA |

### Coaching changes

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
| Selangor | Michael Feichtenbeiner | Redesignated to Technical Director | 16 November 2020 | Pre-season | Karsten Neitzel | 16 November 2020 |
| Kuala Lumpur City | Muhammad Nidzam Adzha | Redesignated to Assistant Coach | 26 November 2020 | Pre-season | Simón Elissetche | 26 November 2020 |
| Petaling Jaya City | K. Devan | End of contract | 28 November 2020 | Pre-season | Maniam Pachaiappan | 28 November 2020 |
| Sabah | Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto | End of contract | 3 December 2020 | Pre-season | Lucas Kalang Laeng | 3 December 2020 |
| Penang | Manzoor Azwira | Redesignated to Assistant Coach | 4 December 2020 | Pre-season | Tomáš Trucha | 4 December 2020 |
| Sri Pahang | Dollah Salleh | Redesignated as Team Manager | 3 January 2021 | Pre-season | Thomas Dooley | 3 January 2021 |
| Sabah | Lucas Kalang Laeng | Redesignated as backroom staff | 20 December 2020 | Pre-season | Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto | 8 January 2021 |
| Kuala Lumpur City | Simón Elissetche | No permit granted | 8 January 2021 | Pre-season | Bojan Hodak | 9 January 2021 |
| Perak | Mehmet Duraković | Mutual Termination | 22 February 2021 | Pre-season | Chong Yee Fatt | 23 February 2021 |
| Sri Pahang | Thomas Dooley | Rested | 17 March 2021 | 9th | Dollah Salleh | 17 March 2021 |
| UiTM | Frank Bernhardt | Rested | 9 April 2021 | 12th | Reduan Abdullah | 9 April 2021 |
| UiTM | Reduan Abdullah | Redesignated | 29 April 2021 | 12th | Frank Bernhardt | 29 April 2021 |
| Perak | Chong Yee Fatt | Rested | 2 Aug 2021 | 11th | Shahril Nizam Khalil | 2 Aug 2021 |
| UiTM | Frank Bernhardt | Sacked | 9 August 2021 | 14th | Reduan Abdullah | 9 August 2021 |

## Foreign players

Southeast Asia (SEA) players are required to have acquired at least 30 international caps for their senior national team with no period restriction on when they are earned while those who has less than 30 international caps will be subjected to MFL approval.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one FIFA and non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Asian Player | ASEAN Player | Former Players |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | Maurício | Bergson | Leandro Velazquez | Gonzalo Cabrera | Syahrian Abimanyu | Jonathan Herrera Hariss Harun |
| Kedah Darul Aman | Renan Alves | Kipré Tchétché | Kpah Sherman | Rabih Ataya | Anumanthan Kumar | |
| Kuala Lumpur City | Romel Morales | Paulo Josué | Kyrian Nwabueze | Giancarlo Gallifuoco | Kevin Ray Mendoza | Dominique Da Sylva |
| Melaka United | Giovane Gomes | Adriano | Sony Norde | Jang Suk-won | Manuel Ott | |
| Penang | Rafael Vitor | Endrick | Casagrande | Sheriddin Boboev | Ryuji Utomo | |
| Perak | Nana Poku | Ezequiel Agüero | Careca | Jad Noureddine | Zoubairou Garba | Shakir Hamzah Leandro |
| Petaling Jaya City | | | | | | |
| Sabah | Risto Mitrevski | Levy Madinda | Josip Ivančić | Park Tae-soo | Saddil Ramdani | Sam Johnson |
| Selangor | Tim Heubach | Manuel Konrad | Oliver Buff | Ifedayo Olusegun | Safuwan Baharudin | |
| Sri Pahang | Hérold Goulon | Yakubu Abubakar | Manuel Hidalgo | Kenny Athiu | Aung Kaung Mann | Pedro Henrique Mamadou Wague Yevhen Bokhashvili Lee Tuck |
| Terengganu | David da Silva | Makan Konaté | Lee Tuck | Habib Haroon | Carli de Murga | Petrus Shitembi Chris Herd |
| UiTM | Joel Vinicius | Victor Nirennold | Ousmane Fané | Kwon Yong-hyun | Dennis Buschening | Adam Reed Nana Poku Abou Bakr Al-Mel Dominik Picak João Pedro |
* Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
* ^1 Foreign players who left their clubs or were de-registered from playing squad due to medical issues or other matters.

### Naturalisation players

| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | Matthew Davies | La'Vere Corbin-Ong | Natxo Insa | Mohamadou Sumareh | Guilherme De Paula |
| Kedah Darul Aman | Tam Sheang Tsung | | | | |
| Kuala Lumpur City | Daniel Ting | Julian Bechler | Ryan Lambert | Luke Tan Xian | |
| Penang | Samuel Somerville | Quentin Cheng | David Rowley | | |
| Petaling Jaya City | Darren Lok | | | | |
| Selangor | Brendan Gan | | | | |
Notes:
    ^2 Carrying Malaysian heritage.
    ^3 Participated in the Malaysia national team squad.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Johor Darul Ta'zim (C) | 22 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 50 | 9 | +41 | 57 | Qualification for AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Kedah Darul Aman | 22 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 44 | 28 | +16 | 43 | Qualification for AFC Cup group stage |
| 3 | Penang | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 37 | 30 | +7 | 41 | |
| 4 | Terengganu | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 20 | +13 | 38 | |
| 5 | Selangor | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 45 | 30 | +15 | 36 | |
| 6 | Kuala Lumpur City | 22 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 27 | 20 | +7 | 33 | Qualification for AFC Cup group stage |
| 7 | Petaling Jaya City | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 28 | −12 | 24 | |
| 8 | Melaka United | 22 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 25 | 31 | −6 | 21 | |
| 9 | Sabah | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 21 | 38 | −17 | 19 | |
| 10 | Sri Pahang | 22 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 23 | 37 | −14 | 18 | |
| 11 | Perak (R) | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 20 | 45 | −25 | 16 | Relegation to Malaysia Premier League |
| 12 | UiTM (R) | 22 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 16 | 41 | −25 | 13 | Relegation to Malaysia Premier League |
* ↑ KL City qualified to 2022 AFC Cup as winner of 2021 Malaysia Cup
* ↑ Melaka have been docked three points based on the following of the decision from FAM (Football Association of Malaysia).

## Result table

| Home \ Away | JDT | KED | KUL | MEL | PEN | PRK | PJC | SBH | SEL | PAH | TER | UiTM |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 |
| Kedah Darul Aman | 0–1 | | 3–2 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 |
| Kuala Lumpur City | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Melaka United | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Penang | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 |
| Perak | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–5 | | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 3–2 |
| Petaling Jaya City | 0–2 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 |
| Sabah | 1–4 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–1 | | 0–6 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 |
| Selangor | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| Sri Pahang | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | | 1–1 | 5–0 |
| Terengganu | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | | 3–0 |
| UiTM | 0–4 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | |

## Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled but added to the full round they were played immediately afterward.
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kedah Darul Aman | 12 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Penang | 4 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Terengganu | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Petaling Jaya | 8 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Kuala Lumpur City | 10 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Selangor | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Perak | 7 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Sri Pahang | 11 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| Sabah | 6 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 |
| Melaka United | 5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 8 |
| UiTM | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
* Leader
* Relegation to 2022 Premier League

## Season statistics

* First goal of the season: 34 minutes and 9 seconds
** Safawi Rasid for Johor Darul Ta'zim against Kedah Darul Aman (5 March 2021)
* Fastest goal in a match: 9 seconds
** Rafael Vitor for Penang against Perak (3 August 2021)
* Goal scored at the latest point in a match: 97 minutes and 59 seconds
** Jang Suk-won for Melaka United against Kuala Lumpur City (31 July 2021)
* Oldest Goalscorer in a match: 41 Years Old 7 Months 15 Days
** Shukor Adan for Kuala Lumpur City against UiTM (8 May 2021)
* Most goals scored by one player in a match: 3 goals
** (All players who got a hatrick)
* Widest winning margin: 6 goals
** Selangor 6–0 Sabah (5 September 2021)
* Most goals in a match: 8 goals
** Perak 3–5 Penang (3 August 2021)
* Most goals in one half: 6 goals
** Perak vs Penang (3 August 2021) 2–4 at half time, 3–5 final
* Most goals in one half by a single team: 4 goals
** Johor Darul Ta'zim vs Perak (31 July 2021) 1–0 at half time, 5–0 final
** Penang vs Perak (3 August 2021) 4–2 at half time, 5–3 final
** Selangor vs Sabah (5 September 2021) 4–0 at half time, 6–0 final

### Top goalscorers

    As of matches played 12 September 2021
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Ifedayo Olusegun | Selangor | 26 |
| 2 | Bergson da Silva | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 23 |
| 3 | Kpah Sherman | Kedah Darul Aman | 13 |
| 4 | Casagrande | Penang | 12 |
| 5 | Kipré Tchétché | Kedah Darul Aman | 10 |
| 5 | Paulo Josué | Kuala Lumpur City | 10 |
| 7 | David da Silva | Terengganu | 7 |
| 7 | Baddrol Bakhtiar | Kedah Darul Aman | 7 |
| 7 | Nana Poku | UiTM/Perak | 7 |
| 10 | Oliver Buff | Selangor | 6 |
| 10 | Sheriddin Boboev | Penang | 6 |

### Hat-trick

    As of matches played 12 September 2021
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Ifedayo Olusegun | Selangor | Perak | 3–1 (H) | 10 April 2021 |
| Bergson da Silva | Johor Darul Ta'zim | Perak | 5–0 (H) | 31 July 2021 |
| Rafael Vitor | Penang | Perak | 5–3 (A) | 3 August 2021 |
| Nana Poku | Perak | Penang | 3–5 (H) | 3 August 2021 |
| Ifedayo Olusegun | Selangor | Kedah Darul Aman | 4–2 (A) | 14 August 2021 |
| Bergson da Silva | Johor Darul Ta'zim | Sri Pahang | 3–0 (H) | 27 August 2021 |
| Ifedayo Olusegun | Selangor | Sabah | 6–0 (A) | 5 September 2021 |
Notes (H) – Home team (A) – Away team

### Top assists

    As of matches played 12 September 2021
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Kipre Tchetche | Kedah Darul Aman | 14 |
| 2 | Endrick | Penang | 11 |
| 3 | Safiq Rahim | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 8 |
| 3 | Oliver Buff | Selangor | 8 |
| 5 | Paulo Josué | Kuala Lumpur City | 7 |
| 5 | Casagrande | Penang | 7 |
| 7 | Gonzalo Cabrera | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 6 |
| 7 | Hein Htet Aung | Selangor | 6 |
| 7 | Makan Konate | Terengganu | 6 |
| 7 | Sony Norde | Melaka United | 6 |

### Clean Sheets

    As of matches played 12 September 2021
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Farizal Marlias | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 11 |
| 2 | Suhaimi Husin | Terengganu | 8 |
| 2 | Kalamullah Al-Hafiz | Petaling Jaya City | 8 |
| 4 | Kevin Ray Mendoza | Kuala Lumpur City | 7 |
| 5 | Sam Somerville | Penang | 6 |

### Discipline

    As of matches played 12 September 2021

#### Players

* Most yellow cards: 6
** Amirul Azhan (Perak)
** Arif Fadzilah (Terengganu)
** Azwan Aripin (Penang)
** Filemon Anyie (Petaling Jaya City)
** Kpah Sherman (Kedah Darul Aman)
** Khuzaimi Piee (UiTM)
* Most red cards: 1
** Nik Shahrul (Kuala Lumpur City)
** Fadzrul Danel (Kedah Darul Aman)
** Renan Alves (Kedah Darul Aman)
** Rodney Celvin Akwensivie (Kedah Darul Aman)
** Casagrande (Penang)
** Khairu Azrin Khazali (Penang)
** Latiff Suhaimi (Penang)
** Raffi Nagoorgani (Petaling Jaya City)
** Maxsius Musa (Sabah)
** Ezanie Salleh (Sri Pahang)
** Hérold Goulon (Sri Pahang)
** Ashmawi Yakin (Selangor)
** Sharul Nazeem (Selangor)
** Syahmi Safari (Selangor)
** Farid Nezal (UiTM)

#### Club

* Most red cards: 3
** Kedah Darul Aman
** Penang
** Selangor
* Most yellow cards: 4
** Sabah