Matchday 17: Valletta 5 Zurrieq 1

Valletta started strong, with Andrei Ciolacu finding the net twice within the first 10 minutes. Żurrieq briefly pulled one back through Sulahmana Mamadu Bah in the 34th minute, but Brandon Paiber restored Valletta’s two-goal lead with a brilliant free kick just three minutes later.

In the second half, Ciolacu completed his hat-trick in the 69th minute, and Jefferson Ferreira added the fifth in the 80th minute to seal an impressive win for Valletta.

Valletta’s clinical finishing and control of the game were key to their success, keeping them in the hunt for top honors this season.

VALLETTA: T. Aquilina, N. Micallef, Z. Cassar, B. Paiber, A. Ciolacu (K. Azzopardi Conti), E. Matiti (P. Lapira), J. Azzopardi (C. Gauci), J. Ferreira, J. Walker (A. Attard), S. Mackay, J. Scicluna (Z. Barbara).

ZURRIEQ: J. Borg, E. Camilleri (O. Vella), S. Mamadu Bah, A. De Barros, J. Zerafa (J. Buttigieg), P. Tenebe, B. Ihuomah (E. Atkins), K. Chircop (L. Vella), S. Bezzina, S. Darmanin, D. Borg.

Scorers: 5′, 10, 70′ A. Ciolacu, 37′ B. Paiber, 80′ J. Ferreira (V), 34′ S. Bah (Z).

Referee: J. Scerri.