Al Wasl made an emphatic start to their ADNOC Pro League campaign as a devastating late surge secured a 5-1 victory over newly promoted United in matchweek One.
Renato Junior gave Al Wasl the perfect start inside three minutes before United responded with their first-ever ADNOC Pro League goal. An own goal restored Al Wasl's advantage after the break before three late strikes, including a Sergio Pereira brace, turned the contest into a commanding victory.
Al Wasl wasted little time in asserting themselves, breaking the deadlock after just three minutes through Junior.
The forward was heavily involved from the start of the move, collecting possession in midfield and driving forward before releasing Pedro Malheiro with an excellent pass.
Malheiro's effort was brilliantly denied by United goalkeeper Salam Khairi, but Junior had continued his run and reacted quickest to poke the rebound.
United make history with their first ADNOC Pro League goal. Despite the early setback, United responded in the 17th minute with a landmark goal in their first ADNOC Pro League appearance.
A superb individual move down the left opened up the Al Wasl defence before the ball was squared across goal for a simple finish, bringing United level at 1-1 and giving the newly promoted side their first goal in the competition.
The equaliser ensured the sides remained locked in a competitive contest before Al Wasl regained control in the second half.
Own goal restored Al Wasl's advantage. The breakthrough arrived three minutes after the hour mark.
Malheiro found space to deliver from the right, and Nagoro Dao, attempting to deal with the danger, inadvertently turned the cross into his own net to restore Al Wasl's lead.
At 2-1, the match remained within United's reach heading into the closing stages, but Al Wasl's attacking quality eventually proved overwhelming.
Three minutes from time, Sergio Pereira gave Al Wasl breathing room with a superb finish from Ali Saleh's delivery to make it 3-1.
Saleh then went from provider to scorer just two minutes later. Picking up possession and driving at the United defence, he danced his way past two defenders before producing a sublime strike beyond Khairi to put the result beyond doubt.
Al Wasl still had time for one more.In the sixth minute of stoppage time, Pereira timed his run perfectly to beat the offside trap and latch on to Renato Tapia's pass before guiding a low finish into the net, completing his brace and sealing a resounding 5-1 victory.
The final scoreline reflected Al Wasl's ruthless finish rather than the full story of the contest. United recovered impressively from conceding inside three minutes and remained only one goal behind until the 87th minute, but Al Wasl's quality and depth came to the fore late on. Three goals in the closing stages transformed a closely fought 2-1 encounter into a five-star opening-day victory.
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