Al Khaleej

Match report

Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai made light work of Al-Khalij with a 5-1 victory in the Pro-League's opening round on Friday. The visitors showed no mercy from the first whistle, with goals coming at regular intervals throughout the match. To be fair, the result reflected the gulf in quality between two sides sitting at opposite ends of the table.

A. Boa Morte opened the scoring in the 25th minute, and the visitors never looked back. S. Ezatolahi doubled the lead before half-time with a well-taken goal in the 57th minute. And here's the thing — Ezatolahi then converted a penalty in the 79th minute, adding a second of the evening. Yuri Cesar made it four in the 84th minute before S. Azmoun struck in the 87th.

Rikelme added a sixth-minute consolation goal in the 90+2nd minute, but by then the match was beyond any form of contest. Al-Khalij's efforts were hampered early on when Mateusao picked up a yellow card in the 19th minute. The hosts managed just two shots on target all match, compared to nine for the visitors.

The statistics told the same story. Shabab Dubai controlled 67 per cent of possession and created 3.83 expected goals, while Al-Khalij managed only 0.74. The visitors registered 23 key passes against just five for the hosts, and their six blocked shots showed how often they threatened. Al-Khalij's goalkeeper was forced into four saves, while his counterpart made just one.

Al-Khalij now find themselves rooted to 10th place with three points from four games, having won just once and lost three times. Shabab Dubai sit third with nine points from their four outings, having suffered only a single defeat. The result leaves the hosts needing to regroup quickly if they want to avoid trouble.

Prepared from match data

Key numbers

Possession, % 33 – 67

Shots on target 2 – 9

Shots off target 4 – 12

Expected goals 0.74 – 3.83

🟨 19' Mateusao — Yellow card ⚽ 25' A. Boa Morte — Goal ⇄ 39' Rafael Pereira — Substitution ⇄ 46' F. Cartabia — Substitution ⚽ 57' S. Ezatolahi — Goal ⇄ 61' A. Al Hosani — Substitution ⇄ 61' A. Barman — Substitution ⇄ 67' Mateusao — Substitution ⇄ 67' M. Seifi — Substitution ⚽ 79' S. Ezatolahi — Penalty ⇄ 83' S. Amallah — Substitution ⇄ 83' J. Flemmings — Substitution ⚽ 84' Yuri Cesar — Goal ⇄ 85' Yuri Cesar — Substitution ⚽ 87' S. Azmoun — Goal ⇄ 87' Guilherme — Substitution ⚽ 90+2' Rikelme — Goal

Match events

19' 0:0 Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Yellow card Mateusao
25' 1:0 Al Khaleej Goal A. Boa Morte assist: A. Barman
39' 1:0 Al Khaleej Substitution Rafael Pereira off: A. Nakach
46' 1:0 Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Substitution F. Cartabia off: S. Azmoun
57' 1:1 Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Goal S. Ezatolahi assist: S. Azmoun
61' 1:1 Al Khaleej Substitution A. Al Hosani off: R. Suhail
61' 1:1 Al Khaleej Substitution A. Barman off: R. Sarki
67' 1:1 Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Substitution Mateusao off: S. Adil
67' 1:1 Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Substitution M. Seifi off: Rikelme
79' 1:2 Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Penalty S. Ezatolahi
83' 1:2 Al Khaleej Substitution S. Amallah off: S. Seymor
83' 1:2 Al Khaleej Substitution J. Flemmings off: A. Diallo
84' 1:3 Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Goal Yuri Cesar assist: Mateus Henrique
85' 1:3 Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Substitution Yuri Cesar off: Kauan Santos
87' 1:4 Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Goal S. Azmoun assist: Kauan Santos
87' 1:4 Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Substitution Guilherme off: Y. Al Ghassani
90+2' 1:5 Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Goal Rikelme assist: Kauan Santos

Statistics

33 Possession, % 67

2 Shots on target 9

4 Shots off target 12

0.74 Expected goals 3.83

2 Big chances 7

137 Attacks 177

0 Corners 10

6 Fouls 11

10 Free kicks 6

0 Offsides 1

0 Yellow cards 1

0 Red cards 0

11 Goal kicks 4

12 Throw-ins 19

All statistics

5/2223% Aerial duels 17/2277%

42 Backward passes 80

1 Blocked shots 6

31 Clearances 7

0/10% Crosses 14/3936%

4/757% Dribbles 5/956%

0.15 Expected assists 3.44

45 Failed passes 39

4 Goalkeeper saves 1

5 Interceptions 0

5 Key passes 23

11/4326% Long passes 37/4680%

18 Passes into the final third 211

75 Passes in the opposition half 399

177 Passes in own half 126

0.29 Shot accuracy 0.33

3 Shots inside the box 20

5/771% Tackles 5/863%

251 Total passes 486

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