Al Ain fought back to secure a dramatic 3-2 late win over Al Wasl in a breathless and pulsating ADNOC Pro League encounter at Zabeel Stadium in matchweek 25 on Sunday.
Al Wasl wasted no time and took an early lead in the 5th minute when Abdelrahman Saleh sent an excellent cross to A. Diallo inside the box, as the latter used his first touch to smack a right-footed shot toward the far post of the goal.
The hosts had a golden opportunity in the 20th minute to restore parity when they were awarded a penalty kick, but Laba Kodjo missed from the spot as his powerful strike was brilliantly denied Al Wasl's goalkeeper Khaled Alsenaani.
The hosts had to play the rest of the match with ten players after Aleksandar Vasiljevi's reckless challenge on Soufian Rahimi, prompting the referee to produce a straight red card in the 27th minute.
Al Ain refused to give up after the early goal as they controlled possession, searching for the equalizer which they got in the 52nd minute when Bandar Al Ahbabi poked the rebound into the net after Jonatas Santos's powerful strike hit the crossbar.
Bandar Al Ahbabi grabbed his brace and put the visitors ahead in the 72nd minute when he unleashed a superb free-kick that curled around the Al Wasl wall as it flashed into the top corner past goalkeeper Khaled Alsenaani.
In the 90th minute, Fabio De Lima leveled the scoring for Al Wasl from a penalty spot after stepping up and sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
The visitors then snatched all three points when Jonatas Santos completed the comeback for the visitors after firing a volley into the back of the net.
The win means that Al Ain sit second with 51 points, while Al Wasl are fifth with 44 points.
Send feedback
