Al Jazira climbed back to the summit of the 2026-27 Pro League table after battling back from a two-goal deficit to secure a 2-2 draw against Kalba at Kalba Stadium during Matchweek 6.
Kalba stamped their authority early when Benjamin Tetteh opened the scoring inside the second minute, precisely at one minute and 27 seconds. Guilherme Sucigan extended the hosts’ lead in the eighth minute, placing Al Jazira under immense early pressure.
Malcom Oliveira reduced the deficit for the visitors in the 22nd minute following a VAR review that validated the strike for a potential offside. Vinicius Mello later added the crucial equalizer to salvage a point, pushing Al Jazira to 14 points at the league summit, whereas Kalba reached five points to sit 11th. While Kalba moved to five points in 11th place, the result took Al Jazira to 14 points at the top of the standings.
Elsewhere, Al Wahda claimed a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over Khorfakkan at Saqr Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi Stadium. Christian Benteke netted a brace, helping his side recover from behind twice to seal maximum points and climb to fifth position with 12 points, leaving Khorfakkan 12th with four points. Taking their tally to 12 points in fifth place, christian Benteke scored twice as Al Wahda came from behind on two occasions to claim all three points.
Khorfakkan initially surged ahead in the 13th minute through a long-range effort from Ramiro Vaca into the right corner. Mansour Saleh leveled the score for Al Wahda with a header in the 24th minute. Who headed home to level the score at 1-1, al Wahda responded in the 24th minute through Mansour Saleh.
Tarik Tissoudali restored the hosts’ advantage in the 32nd minute from inside the penalty area, before Benteke converted a penalty in the 39th minute to level proceedings at 2-2 by halftime. However, Benteke equalised from the penalty spot in the 39th minute, bringing an entertaining first half to a close with the teams level at 2-2. However, the hosts made the most of their opportunity just before the interval.
In Saturday’s marquee fixture, Shabab Al Ahli defeated Al Ain 2-0 at Rashid Stadium, halting their opponents’ unbeaten start to the campaign. Sardar Azmoun opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time by finishing off a setup from Breno Cascardo, marking the hosts’ first shot on target.
Kauan Santos Silva secured the result in the 59th minute by scoring Shabab Al Ahli’s second goal. The victory propelled the hosts to 13 points in third place, overtaking Al Ain, who slipped to fourth on goal difference. Goals from Sardar Azmoun and Kauan Santos Silva in the 45+1st and 59th minutes gave the hosts all three points in one of the Matchweek’s biggest encounters.
Al Ain dominated the opening period with roughly 60 percent possession and 12 attempts, though they failed to break down a resilient home defense. Their evening worsened late in the match when Abdulkarim Trawri received a red card, reducing the visitors to 10 men. Enjoying around 60% possession and registering 12 shots, including three on target, compared with three attempts for Shabab Al Ahli, al Ain controlled much of the first half. Al Ain pushed forward in search of a response but were unable to break through Shabab Al Ahli’s defence.
The defeat terminated Al Ain’s 19-match unbeaten away run in the competition and marked their first league loss since falling to Khorfakkan in March 2025. It also halted a 32-match scoring streak, representing their first league fixture without a goal since May 2025 against Ajman.
Azmoun further cemented his prolific record at Rashid Stadium, netting his 10th ADNOC Pro League goal at the venue out of 16 overall. Shabab Al Ahli also improved their historical head-to-head record against defending champions Al Ain, securing their seventh win in such fixtures.
