Al Ain continued their relentless march towards the Adnoc Pro League title with a 4-1 win over Khor Fakkan at the Hazza bin Zayed stadium.
Victory took Al Ain's tally to 33 points and maintained their six-point lead over their closest challengers Al Wahda, who beat Al Orooba on Friday.
Soufian Rahimi opened the scoring when he picked up the ball from the edge of the area before curling in a low effort beyond the reach of Khor Fakkan goalkeeper Ahmed Mahmoud.
Kodjo Laba doubled the lead from the penalty spot shortly before the break. Hamdan Al Baroud sparked life into the game with a powerful header to close the gap five minutes into the second half.
However, hopes of a Khor Fakkan comeback were short-lived as Rahimi dribbled inside the area to find the unmarked Cristian Guanca to tap home for a 3-1 lead.
Laba added his second goal of the match five minutes later to seal Al Ain’s victory.
“It was a very satisfying performance and satisfying result returning to the Pro League action [after] more than three weeks break,” said Al Ain manager Serhiy Rebrov.
“We created several scoring opportunities and [were] on target four times but I must say our backline did well to contribute to this win. They were solid in defence and played a huge part in this result.
“Obviously starting with a win in the second half of the league not only maintains our six-point lead but gives confidence to the players for our away game against Emirates on Friday.”
Baniyas returned with a point after holding Al Wasl to a 0-0 draw at Zabeel Stadium in Dubai.
