Mabkhout treble extends Al Jazira reign at top

Ali Mabkhout netted a hat-trick to guide Al Jazira to a valuable 4-2 victory over Fujairah at Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium in matchweek 21 of the Arabian Gulf League.

Al Jazira’s Khalifa Alhammadi headed home to break the deadlock on the 10-minute mark. The Pride of Abu Dhabi were then awarded a penalty and Ali Mabkhout converted from the spot to make it 2-0.

Bilal Yousif pulled one back for Fujairah in the 34th minute, as they were trailing 2-1 at halftime. Only two minutes after the restart, Mohamed Mustafa netted the equalizer to revive the guests’ hopes of making a comeback.

However, Mabkhout was at the heart of action once more as he completed his hat-trick in the dying minutes of the game. The in-form forward found the back of the net in the 89th and 97th minutes to seal a 4-2 win and raise his tally to 21 goals at the top of the goalscoring charts.

Al Jazira maintained their spot at the top of the Arabian Gulf League standings and raised their tally to 47 points. Meanwhile, Fujairah failed to escape the relegation zone as they remained in 12th place with 11 points.

LIMA DOUBLE SPARKS AL WASL WIN: Al Wasl rallied back from two goals down to claim a 4-2 victory over Ajman at the Zabeel Stadium in matchweek 21 of the AGL on Monday.

Al Wasl’s evening didn’t start well, as they were already trailing 2-0 after 37 minutes. Bubacarr Trawally opened the scoring from the spot just before the half-hour mark and Leandro Spadacio doubled their lead eight minutes later.

The home side piled pressure on Ajman’s defence and reduced the deficit through Natan Felipe in the 40th minute to ensure a 2-1 scoreline at halftime.

The hosts started the second half more purposefully, as they scored three goals in less than 30 minutes to seal a memorable 4-2 comeback win.

Al Wasl were level only four minutes after the restart thanks to Fabio Lima’s goal. The 27-year-old was on target again just over 10 minutes later after converting from the spot put his side 3-2 up.

Nicolas Oroz sealed the victory with a left-footed strike in the 77th minute to end Al Wasl’s four-game winless run.

Al Wasl extended their unbeaten run to 11 games and raised their tally to 33 points in seventh place. Meanwhile, Ajman remained 12th with 11 points.

AL WAHDA, RASOVIC PART WAYS: Al Wahda announced on Saturday the departure of head coach Vuk Rasovic, just hours after their 4-0 defeat to Al Ain in the UAE Pro League.

Al Wahda, in confirming the Serbian’s departure, thanked the 48-year-old Rasovic for his services to the club.

Rasovic joined Al Wahda last September from fellow UAE Pro League side Al Dhafra, who he had steered to the final of UAE President’s Cup for two consecutive years.

The Abu Dhabi giants are now on the look-out for a new head coach ahead of taking on Iraq’s Al Zawra’a in the Playoff round of the 2021 AFC Champions League on April 7.

The winners will advance to Group E along with last year’s finalists Persepolis FC of Islamic Republic of Iran, Qatar’s Al Rayyan and FC Goa of India.