UAE Pro League: Pirlo's rude awakening, Sharjah shine and Al Ain's dramatic comeback
UAE champions Al Ain fought back from 2-0 down against Baniyas to win 4-2 and salvage their long unbeaten record on Sunday night. Al Ain went undefeated last season and have not tasted a Pro League loss since a 3-2 reverse at Dibba in March 2025. That run looked as good as over when Mali international Youssoufou Niakate struck twice in the first half to put Baniyas in control. Al Ain's new $6…
Al Ain fought back from a 2-0 deficit against Baniyas on Sunday night to win 4-2 and keep their Pro League unbeaten record intact. The Emirati champions had not lost a Pro League match since March 2025, when they suffered a 3-2 defeat against Dibba. However, Mali international Youssoufou Niakate scored twice in the first half to give Baniyas the lead.
Despite a controversial disallowed goal for Al Ain's new striker Giorgos Giakoumakis, the defending champions managed to level the scores through Soufiane Rahimi and Houssine on the final whistle. A fourth goal from Kaku sealed the victory. In other matches, Cosmin Olaroiu made an impressive start to the season with Al Jazira, who beat Hatta 2-0.
Meanwhile, Pirlo's newly promoted Dubai United suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat to traditional club Al Wasl, with Renato Junior and Serginho among the scorers. Sharjah and Shabab Al Ahli also made strong impressions, with the former winning 3-1 at Al Dhafra and the latter scoring five second-half goals in a 5-1 victory over Khorfakkan.
Al Wahda's poor start to the season continued, as they lost 3-2 at home to Ajman. Al Nasr and Kalba shared four goals and the points in a 2-2 draw.
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