Al-Wahda and Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai Club earned epic victories in heavyweight clashes, and a modern classic was played out when Ittihad Kalba hosted sorry Al-Nasr, in the ADNOC Pro League’s unforgettable matchweek 8.
The final moments of Sunday’s last match proved decisive when Al-Wahda’s substitute Joao Pedro headed the visitors to a memorable 1-0 victory at Sharjah Stadium.
Uzbekistan midfielder Azizjon Ganiev struck from distance, meanwhile, on Saturday when the 10-men of Shabab Al-Ahli inflicted a 2-1 defeat on inconsistent title holders Al-Ain.
A rollercoaster contest on the east coast witnessed Kalba go ahead after three minutes, trail 3-1 to Thorsten Fink’s 12th-placed Nasr up to the 71st minute and eventually prevail 5-3. Morocco star Achraf Bencharki produced his opening Al-Jazira goals at the eighth attempt to earn a valuable 2-0 triumph against Al-Wasl and arrest their four-match winless run.
Baniyas thumped sinking Al-Dhafra 5-0, UAE veteran Ismail Al-Hammadi pounced in the 95th minute to see Khor Fakkan edge promoted Dibba Al-Fujairah 1-0, and Tunisia schemer Firas Ben Larbi’s penalty moved on-song Ajman up to sixth with a 2-1 win against Al-Bataeh.
Here are Arab News’ top picks and talking points from the latest action.
Player of the week — Daniel Bessa (Ittihad Kalba)
Daniel Bessa was a picture of calm amid unalloyed chaos at Ittihad Kalba Stadium.
An undulating contest, and the division’s highest-scoring fixture since November 2020, was twisted back in the hosts’ favor courtesy of their summer recruit from Hellas Verona’s stellar display.
The measured 29-year-old Brazilian-Italian sparked this comeback with an ice-cold, slotted second for Kalba with 19 minutes of regular time remaining. His probing also ensured he finished up with a laudable 95-per-cent pass accuracy and two key passes, while two interceptions played their part in diminishing visiting Morocco midfielder Adel Taarabt’s influence after a magical opening.
Bessa’s tactical pedigree at the base of midfield, after his decade largely spent in Serie A, was evident past the interval when Kalba’s return to a four-man defense paid dividends. This assuaged some of the damage from a first period defined by Igor Rossi and Abdulsalam Mohammed’s uncharacteristic porous defending.
Impetus is now paramount at the ambitious Tigers. Exacting, but conquerable, run-outs await against Baniyas and Ajman, before winding down for the 2022 World Cup break.
Goal of the week — Joao Pedro (Al-Wahda)
This meeting between two of UAE football’s most-impressive spenders was always going to be a tight affair.
A solitary goal would, again, separate them, little more than a week since Spain predator Paco Alcacer’s stunning free-kick settled the President’s Cup final for Sharjah. But this time, it would be the visiting Clarets enacting raucous celebrations after a brilliant clincher from replacement Pedro.
Boss Manolo Jimenez surprised with an XI missing the redoubtable striker who’d notched five goals in eight top-flight matches so far this season. It was left to the evergreen, 37-year-old UAE international forward Sebastian Tagliabue, to soften Sharjah up.
The inevitable switch between the pair came on 78 minutes. What followed before the full-time whistle will live long in Wahda’s collective memories.
Portugal’s Euro 2016 winner Adrien Silva, typically, was at the heart of things.
A blur of bolting Brazilian caught his attention, when picking up possession on the edge of Sharjah’s penalty box deep into injury time. His enviable ability then granted him utility to chip the ball high, from which the charging Pedro provided the slam dunk into the goal via a leaping header.
Cue pandemonium in the away end at Sharjah Stadium and on the pitch.
This is a rivalry which continues to deliver.
Coach of the week — Leonardo Jardim (Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai Club)
Leonardo Jardim’s Shabab Al-Ahli are starting to take shape.
Much was expected when Al-Hilal’s 2021 AFC Champions League winner, and the man partially credited with unleashing Kylian Mbappe on the world when at Monaco, was convinced to sign up in June.
Performances have rarely matched reputation in the months since. This, however, was definitively not the case on Friday.
Shabab Al-Ahli refused to be cowed by UAE warrior Mohammed Marzooq’s 10th-minute own goal against the champions, deciding to forfeit possession in lieu of greater opportunities on the counter-attack. This bold approach was exemplified prior to the break when 2017 AFC Player of the Year Omar Khrbin was best positioned to tap-in from Yuri Cesar’s saved effort.
A superior return of six shots on target to one spoke volumes.
So too the fact they’ve joined Sharjah and Wahda at the top with 16 points — and it feels like the Portuguese coach’s troops are only getting started after three successive victories.
Sharjah aren’t yet sum of their parts
Something is not quite right at Sharjah.
They boast the competition’s grandest manager in Cosmin Olaroiu, outstanding youngsters such as Luan Pereira, and garnered global headlines in the summer by capturing Alcacer, Miralem Pjanic and Kostas Manolas. Silverware has already been accrued with the President’s Cup and they, only just, top the table on goal difference.
Yet, two 1-0 defeats against fellow high-flyer Wasl and Wahda have come in their last three league matches. Just five shots on target were recorded during this time.
Conversely, the preceding 3-3 draw at 2020-21 champions Al-Jazira was stained by rampant defensive mistakes and inspired by Caio.
A nagging injury to Pjanic isn’t helping, while it’s been regulation stop-start from UAE tyro Majed Hassan.
Momentum must be gained rather than lost, with the top eight separated by just three points. The battle against Al-Ain on Nov. 12 looms large.
