Al-Ain leads the ADNOC Pro League table after securing a valuable 1-0 victory over Sharjah on Friday during the 11th round of matches. 'The Leader' strengthened its position at the top, widening the gap to six points over its closest pursuers, Al-Wasl and Al-Wahda, raising its total to 27 points. Meanwhile, Sharjah remains in 12th place with seven points. The match's only goal was scored by Moroccan player Hussein Rahimi, who found the net ten minutes into the second half. Al-Ain delivered one of its best performances of the season, not allowing Sharjah time to settle. The team applied early pressure across all lines and could have opened the scoring as early as the seventh minute through a strike by Laba Kodjo, but a crucial save by goalkeeper Adel Al-Hosani prevented it. Al-Ain continued its attacking momentum, threatening Sharjah's goal with a powerful shot from Hussein Rahimi, which Al-Hosani parried away for a corner. The home side came even closer to scoring with a header from Amadou Niang, but the crossbar stood in the way of a goal. Sharjah's first serious chance in the first half came from a Kai Lucas run, which the goalkeeper saved, but the ball rebounded to Fras Al-Arabi, who shot over the bar. Later, Laba Kodjo went on to score a magnificent goal, arguably one of the best of the season, by receiving a cross from Abdallah Traore and shooting directly into the top corner of the net. However, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) intervened and disallowed the goal, ruling that the ball had gone out of play before Traore's pass. The second half began perfectly for Al-Ain, as it quickly converted its advantage into a goal. Hussein Rahimi unleashed a low, curling shot that settled in the bottom-left corner of Sharjah's goalkeeper. Al-Ain was then forced to play with ten men for over 12 minutes after substitute Muhammad Abbas was sent off for receiving two yellow cards. Nevertheless, Sharjah failed to capitalize on the numerical disadvantage to equalize.
