Sharjah won the Super Cup title for the third time in their history by defeating Shabab Al-Ahli 3-2 in the match held at Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai on Saturday. Under the leadership of their new coach, the Portuguese José Mourinho, the 'Kings' managed to break the Shabab Al-Ahli jinx, having lost to them three times in seven previous meetings in local and continental tournaments during 2025. Shabab Al-Ahli entered the match with the best possible scenario, earning an early penalty due to a joint error from Khaled Al Zuhani and Cho Yu-min, which caused Lapa to fall inside the penalty area. Federico Cartabia successfully converted the penalty, giving his team an early lead. Cartabia scored his goal in the 2nd minute and 25 seconds, breaking the record set by Al Ain's former player, Emmanuel Emenike, who held the record for the fastest goal in Super Cup final history, scored in the 2nd minute and 53 seconds during his team's match against Al-Nasr in 2015. Sharjah did not delay in getting back into the game, equalizing from a penalty awarded after a VAR review, which was executed by Caio Lucas to the left of the 'keeper in the 26th minute. Three minutes later, Sharjah capitalized on their advantage and snatched the lead through Luan Pereira, benefiting from a exquisite pass from Caio Lucas that pierced Shabab Al-Ahli's defense. The excitement remained on the pitch, as Shabab Al-Ahli quickly responded to equalize, thanks to Brino Cascar, who followed up a Bruno César pass and slotted it into the net in the 37th minute. With his first touch after coming on as a substitute, Ousmane Camara capitalized on a fatal error by Shabab Al-Ahli's goalkeeper, Hamad Al-Makbali, who rushed out of his goal too early, to score the winning goal in the 78th minute. Sharjah was forced to complete the match with 10 men from the 84th minute after captain Shahin Abdurrahman was shown two yellow cards. The two teams had previously met three times in Super Cup finals, with Sharjah winning the 2019-2020 season on penalties, while Shabab Al-Ahli won the 2020-2021 and 2023-2024 editions with scores of 1-0 and 6-2 respectively.
