Al Ain won a dramatic Pro League Cup final by defeating Shabab Al Ahli 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after the sides were deadlocked at 2-2.
Khalid Eissa was their hero, saving Abdulaziz Haikal’s penalty for the Garden City Club’s triumph at the Mohamed bin Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Federico Cartabia drew first blood for Shabab Al Ahli on 28 minutes and the Argentine midfielder scored his second of the match nine minutes from time to force penalties after Al Ain had taken the lead through Kodjo Laba and Caio Canedo in the second half.
It could have been over for Al Ain but for an excellent save from Eissa three minutes from time when he parried Ahmad Noorollah's rocket over the crossbar.
Al Ain then had an opportunity to put the game to bed but Soufiane Rahimi failed to get past Shabab Al Ahli goalkeeper Majed Naser with a minute left.
Shabab Al Ahli took the lead when Bandar Al Ahbabi misjudged a long ball, allowing Harib Abdulla to work his way down the left flank.
The Emirati winger was left with plenty of space to send in a cross for the unmarked Cartabia to score with a deflection off Al Ain’s Brazilian defender Rafael.
Shabab Al Ahli had a golden opportunity to double the lead early in the second half. Cartabia set-up Thomas Olsen inside the area off a counter-attack and the Norwegian forward found Noorollah on his left, but the Iranian midfielder sent it way over the crossbar.
Al Ain had to improve in the second half and they did from a counter-attack, with their leading scorer Laba darting across to connect a header from an Al Ahbabi high ball for a 53rd minute equaliser.
That goal really fired up Al Ain. They increased the tempo in attack with Canedo’s effort from just outside the area grazing over the bar and a header from Rahimi deflecting off a defender before landing safely into the arms of Naser.
Minutes later, Laba had a chance to give his side the lead when Erik Jorgens slipped him a pass with only Naser to beat, but the Al Ain forward lost control of for Naser to snatch it from his feet.
Al Ain made a double substation on 72 minutes, bringing in Saeed Juma in place of Al Ahbabi and Ahmed Barman coming in for Walid Abbas.
That worked for Al Ain as Canedo, unmarked at the far post, headed a neat cross from Jorgens to take a 2-1 lead in the 75th minute.
However, Cartabia’s free kick gave Shabab Al Ahli a lifeline to go into the penalty shoot-out.
Shabab Al Ahli made four changes to their line-up after they went down to Al Ain 1-0 in the Adnoc Pro League four days ago.
The forward line was strengthened by the return of Olsen and Cartabia, and the Emirati internationals Omar Abdulrahman and Walid Abbas. Al Ain brought back Rafael, Jorgens, Al Ahbabi and Yahia Nader from that game.
Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Film: In Syria
Dir: Philippe Van Leeuw
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Diamand Bo Abboud, Mohsen Abbas and Juliette Navis
Verdict: Four stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Results:
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 (PA) | Group 1 US$75,000 (Dirt) | 2,200 metres
Winner: Goshawke, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihe (trainer)
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas (TB) | Listed $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Silva, Oisin Murphy, Pia Brendt
7.40pm: Meydan Classic Trial (TB) | Conditions $100,000 (Turf) | 1,400m
Winner: Golden Jaguar, Connor Beasley, Ahmad bin Harmash
8.15pm: Al Shindagha Sprint (TB) | Group 3 $200,000 (D) | 1,200m
Winner: Drafted, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Capezzano, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,000m
Winner: Oasis Charm, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
Winner: Escalator, Christopher Hayes, Charlie Fellowes
'Jurassic%20World%20Dominion'
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If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20Profile
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'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
At a glance
Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free
Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
