UAE Pro League review: Al-Jazira stumble as Al-Wasl soar

A torrent of goals and drama that featured a shock for Frank de Boer’s high-flying Al-Jazira, plus faultless five-star shows from Al-Wasl and Sharjah, followed ADNOC Pro League’s restart after the international break.

Friday’s matchweek six resumption began with a bang. Nicolas Gimenez and unstoppable UAE forward Fabio De Lima put pointless promoted hosts Hatta to the sword during Al-Wasl’s 5-0 thrashing, while 10-man holders Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai Club were pegged back to 3-3 from a 3-1 lead by an Al-Nasr, fueled by Italy forward Manolo Gabbiadini.

Malian youngster Sekou Gassama conjured a sinuous solo strike in Al-Bataeh’s 1-1 draw aganst second-bottom Ajman and Al-Wahda snapped a three-match losing streak in all competitions courtesy of a 2-1 triumph versus Ittihad Kalba.

Shahin Surour was in decisive form on Saturday against boyhood club Al-Jazira when struggling Khor Fakkan stunned their vaunted visitors 4-2 and Sharjah recorded five different scorers in a 5-0 dismantling of Baniyas. The 2021/22 champions Al-Ain returned to top spot with a 3-1 victory against Emirates Club that contained a 10th-minute red card for Bandar Al-Ahbabi, plus Spain icon Andres Iniesta both converting and missing penalty kicks for the opposition.

Here are the top picks and a talking point from the latest action.

Player of the week: Nicolas Gimenez (Al-Wasl)

A standout performance, for player and club.

Gimenez at Hatta became the first ADNOC Pro League star rewarded by statisticians SofaScore with a perfect 10-rated display. This was earned via two close-range finishes and a laser-guided assist for De Lima’s 89th-minute second.

Al-Wasl had lost momentum prior to this month’s latest stoppage, drawing successive matches versus