Benkhaleq hails Al Ain’s resilience after hard-fought win over Tractor in ACL Elite

Yahya Benkhaleq praised Al Ain FC for their resilience after the UAE side maintained their perfect start to the AFC Champions League Elite 2026/27 with a 2-1 win over Tractor FC on Monday.

Benkhaleq’s cross set up Houssine Rahimi’s 70th-minute winner, with the defender saying that Al Ain had to dig deep after their 3-2 extra-time defeat to Shabab Al Ahli in the UAE President’s Cup three days earlier.

Al Ain found the breakthrough in the 21st minute from an unlikely source as centre-back Ramy Rabia strode forward and from 30 yards out, unleashed a swerving left-footed shot that a fully-stretched Parsa Jafari could do nothing to prevent the ball from nestling in the net.

The Moroccan forward Rahimi - who had bagged braces against Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr Club and Air Force SC of Iraq — struck in the second half to secure all three points for the Emirati side

“It was an important win, and these three points help us stay at the top of the standings. Credit goes to my teammates for their tremendous effort, especially after the difficult 120-minute match we played three days ago,” said Benkhaleq, who was named Player of the Match.

“The players knew they had to put in extra effort despite the fatigue to maintain our positive results. We look forward to performing even better in the matches ahead.”

Head coach Vladimir Ivic acknowledged the demands on both teams, but commended his players’ professionalism.

“We are pleased with the three points, and I congratulate the players on a professional performance,” said Ivic.

“It was a difficult match for both teams. We are pleased with the three points, and I congratulate the players on a professional performance.”’

“We will face strong teams with quality players, but we are ready for the challenge. We have won our first three matches, with five still to play, and we will take each game as it comes.”

Tractor head coach Javad Nekounam felt his side had the better of the contest.

“We had watched Al Ain’s matches and knew their strengths. For around 70 minutes, we played better and forced them to defend. We created several chances, but Al Ain were professional and clever, and took their chances,” said Nekounam.

“We lost three key players before this match, while two others are injured. We also face travel difficulties and do not have enough players to compete under these conditions.

“If we were playing at home, 80,000 people would come to support us. We can beat any team on our own ground.”

Jaber relived as Air Force SC end losing run: Relieved head coach Rasheed Jaber praised Air Force SC’s focus after they ended a run of two defeats with a 1-0 win over Pahtakor.

Saad Abdul Ameer scored the decisive goal as the Iraqi side claimed the first victory of the campaign, while Pakhtakor are still searching for their first win.

“It was a good match and we needed the three points, said Jaber. “The focus was on moving the ball quickly and concentrating on both the defensive and attacking aspects of our game.”

“Our thoughts and focus were on the team and the match. We were facing a good side who had played at a high level in their last match., so we needed to show great concentration and put in a big effort.”

Pakhtakor head coach Emilian Caras felt the pitch made it difficult for his side to play their usual game.

“We struggled to play our game with the condition of the pitch and were unable to adapt,” said Caras. “I felt that the team making the fewer mistakes would win. Unfortunately, we made more mistakes.

“Our opponents took advantage of that. We came here to win - even a draw would not have satisfied us before the match but we ended up with nothing.”

Meanwhile, Wissing was beaming with pride after Al Ittihad Club came from behind to defeat PFC Neftchi 2-1.

The German tactician was delighted with how his players showed determination and character to keep pushing until the end, with Youssef En-Neysri’s 90th minute strike converting a draw into victory, after Houssem Aouar had pulled them level.

“Big compliments to our opponents who made it difficult for us,” said Wissing.