Al Ain moved temporarily to the summit of the ADNOC Pro League after a convincing 3-1 victory over Kalba in Matchweek 14, with goals from Laba Kodjo, Soufian Rahimi and Matias Palacios sealing all three points.
The opening half was a cautious affair, with both sides struggling to create clear-cut chances as the teams went into the break level at 0-0.
Al Ain emerged with renewed intensity after the restart and broke the deadlock just two minutes into the second half, as Laba Kodjo produced a stunning bicycle kick to open the scoring.
The visitors doubled their advantage shortly after the hour mark when Soufian Rahimi latched onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Abdulkarim Trawri, beat his marker and fired a composed finish into the bottom corner.
Kalba pulled one back in the 70th minute through Ahmad Noorollah, who powered from inside the area to give the hosts hope.
However, any prospect of a comeback was ended when Matias Palacios struck from outside the box to restore Al Ain’s two-goal cushion and secure the victory.
The result lifts Al Ain to the top of the table on 34 points, while Kalba remain eighth with 16.
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