Persib Bandung secured a convincing 3-1 victory over Borneo FC in the postponed fifth-week match of the BRI Super League 2025/26 at Stadion Gelora Bandung Lautan Api on Friday, December 5, 2025. Persib's goals came from Ramon De Andrade Souza, Federico Barba, and Saddil Ramdani, while Borneo took a brief lead through Joel Vinicius. The win narrows Persib's gap to the league leaders to five points.
The match unfolded intensely at Stadion GBLA in Bandung, West Java. Borneo FC took the lead first with Joel Vinicius's goal in the 18th minute. Persib equalized in the first half through Ramon 'Tanque' De Andrade Souza's strike in the 40th minute, tying the score at 1-1 at halftime.
Entering the second half, Persib pressed forward. Federico Barba scored the second goal in the 50th minute with a powerful volley from a loose ball in the penalty area. Borneo threatened with Peralta's shot in the 47th minute, blocked by Putros, and Souza's effort in the 58th minute, saved by goalkeeper Nadeo.
Persib coach Bojan Hodak made substitutions in the 63rd minute, replacing Beckham with Dewangga and Putros with Berguinho. Borneo's attacks intensified after falling behind, bringing on strikers Douglas Coutinho and Vinicius. However, debut goalkeeper Fitrah Maulana saved Maicon's shot in the 78th minute, and Marc Klok blocked Coutinho's chance in the 80th.
In the 75th minute, Souza and Barba were substituted by Saddil Ramdani and Julio Cesar. In the seven minutes of added time, Nazriel Alfaro Syahdan replaced Guaycochea in the 90+3rd minute. Saddil sealed the win with a goal in the 90+7th minute.
Post-match, Bojan Hodak praised his team: "I have to be honest, surprisingly we played very well and dominated the entire match. Even the 3-1 score is still good for them (Borneo FC), because in the first half we had many chances." He also commended Fitrah Maulana and Nazriel: "The young players like Fitrah and Nazriel played exceptionally."
Fitrah Maulana, an Akademi Persib graduate, admitted to nerves in his debut: "This match was very tense because it was my first time playing at home with many Bobotoh. At the beginning, I was a bit tense because it was my first debut at PERSIB and alhamdulillah I could get through it all and the result was very good."
The victory places Persib third with 28 points from 12 games, narrowing the gap to league-leading Borneo FC to five points. Before the match, there was psywar between coaches: Bojan Hodak on December 2, 2025, said he was more focused on Persija, while Fabio Lefundes responded on December 4, "Since I was born, people have doubted what I can do. But I like when they doubt us, because it will motivate us to show our strength even more."
