Al Bataeh pip Khorfakkan as Shabab Al Ahli held

Al Bataeh secured their first win of the 2025/26 Adnoc Pro League season with a 2-1 comeback victory over Khorfakkan at the Khalid Bin Mohammed Stadium on Sunday, closing out Matchweek 2.

The result gave Al Bataeh their first three points of the campaign, making up for their opening defeat to Al Ain, while Khorfakkan remain on three points from their opening-round victory over Al Jazira.

Aylton Filipe opened the scoring for Khorfakkan in the 42nd minute, netting his 17th league goal, all scored from inside the box.

Al Bataeh replied quickly, equalizing in the 45th minute through Ulrich Sidoine after an assist from Azizjon Ganiev.

The winner came in the 62nd minute when Gianluca Muniz converted another Ganiev assist, with the midfielder now involved in Al Bataeh’s last five goals.

Despite Khorfakkan’s late push, the hosts held firm to secure all three points.

Al Wahda, Shabab Al Ahli play goalless draw: Title holders Shabab Al Ahli dropped their first points of the season after being held to a goalless draw by Al Wahda in an intense encounter at Al Nahyan Stadium.

Both sides head into the international break level on four points, with a win and a draw from their opening two matches, leaving early momentum in the title race finely balanced.

Al Wahda came close to striking first in the 24th minute when defender Lucas Pimenta capitalised on a rare mistake from Shabab Al Ahli’s goalkeeper, planting a back header into the net — only for the effort to be disallowed due to an offside.

The hosts maintained their pressure throughout the first half, pressing high up the pitch.

Luciano Rivera nearly broke through with a low drive from inside the box, but Bogdan Planic produced a last-ditch tackle to deny him 13 minutes before the break.

The second half opened at a furious pace, with the champions creating back-to-back chances within a single minute.

Nemanja Maksimović saw his powerful header expertly saved by goalkeeper Zayed Ahmed, who then immediately denied Guilherme Da Silva’s follow-up effort with another stunning stop.

The clearest opportunity of the match arrived on 59 minutes when Omar Khribin latched onto a rebound from Dusan Tadic’s strike, only to see his effort cannon back off the crossbar, leaving the home crowd stunned.

Drama continued late in the contest as Renan Victor Da Silva was shown a straight red card in the 83rd minute for a reckless challenge on Facundo Daniel, reducing Shabab Al Ahli to ten men.

Deep into stoppage time, Al Wahda were also forced down to ten after Lucas Pimenta received his marching orders for a heavy tackle on Guilherme Da Silva.