Story of the match
Al Ain overcame Al Jazira at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium to cement their position at the top of the league, while their opponents tasted a third defeat.
The first 20 minutes saw the match played mostly in Al Jazira’s half even though Al Ain were unable break down their defence.
It was Thiago Neves for the visitors who had a first decent crack at the goal, his fierce but rising shot missing the bar.
The Brazilian was Al Jazira’s best option up front and saw shots blocked by the defenders on three occasions.
The best chance of the half came when Omar Abdulrahman exchanged passes with his brother Mohammed before dragging his left-foot shot wide.
The second half started in explosive fashion when Abdulrahman’s shot tipped over the bar brilliantly by Ali Kasheif.
But the UAE keeper could not prevent the breakthrough in the 53rd minute when Abdulrahman exchanged passes with Lee Myung-joo twice before the South Korean drilled the ball into the roof of the net.
Al Jazira coach Abel Braga attempted to raise their game halfway through the second half by replacing Neves with Ahmad Rabie, a forward for a midfielder, but only succeeded in depriving his attack of their brightest spark up to that point.
Mirko Vucinic also departed, to be replaced by Ahmed Al Attas. Al Jazira managed to put the home team under some pressure thereafter, but they created few clear chances.
Kasheif denied a curling freekick from Fellipe Bastos but could not deny him at the second time of asking in injury time.
Man of the match - Omar Abdulrahman, Al Ain
Wearing the captain’s armband, Abdulrahman was head and shoulders above everyone else.
In a frantic but poor first half, he provided a few moments of individual skill. He continued to dominate the midfield in the second, creating the first goal as well as having several chances himself.
What managers said
Abel Braga, Al Jazira: "The better team won. They have great individuals but also excel in team play. This was clear in the first goal. The part played by the advancing Bastos played in the goal showed that. I don't want to take away from Al Ain, but the second goal was harsh on us."
Zlatko Dalic, Al Ain: "My team played their best game so far this season. We did everything that we prepared for in the meeting and in training. The players showed everything on the field. I'm very happy. Thank you to our fans for their big support."
The National’s verdict
Al Jazira started the match in eighth place and seven points behind Al Ain, and any faint hopes of a title challenge surely disappeared at the home of the champions last night.
In the end, they were well beaten. More worrying for coach Braga was the poor performance of his forward players, with the Montenegrin Mirko Vucinic and the UAE’s Ali Mabkhout barely involved in the action.
For the home team, the night could not have gone any better as they confirmed their superiority at the top of the tables while dismissing last year’s runners up from the race.
It is early days yet, but Al Nasr and Al Ahli – Al Ain’s most obvious challengers for the title– need exceptional seasons if they are to bypass a team getting into their grove.
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