Al Wasl defeated hosts Kalba by three goals to nil in the opening of the second round of the ADNOC Pro League.

Head coach Portuguese Rui Vitória’s selections for the match were as follows: Mohamed Al Wali in goal, with a four-man defensive line consisting of Pedro Malheiro, Soufiane Bouftini, Adryelson Silva, and Hugo Neto. midfield consistied of Serginho, Siaka Sidibe, Ridwan PoPoola, Nicolas Gimenez, and Ali Saleh, while Renato Junior led the attack.

Al Wasl started the match with attacking pressure, seeking to open the scoring early, and came close to achieving its objective in the 11th minute, following a fine leap by Adryelson to meet a cross from an indirect free kick taken by Pedro Malheiro, but his header came back off the inside of the post.

With the continued pressure, the Emperor succeeded in translating its superiority into the opening goal in the 18th minute through Ali Saleh from the penalty spot. Al Wasl continued its attacking pressure in search of extending its lead, which was achieved with a second goal scored by Nicolas Gimenez. The goal came from an organized attack that started with a long pass from Siaka Sidibe towards Ali Saleh, who in turn passed it to Serginho, who sent a precise cross into the penalty area, which Nicolas Gimenez followed into the net with an elegant touch, strengthening the Emperor’s lead in the 23rd minute.

In the second half, Al Wasl’s attacks followed one after another in search of more goals. Serginho came close to scoring the third goal with a powerful shot in the 63rd minute, but luck did not favor him in scoring. Nicolas Gimenez led a quick attack and played a long ball to Renato Junior in the 69th minute. The latter shot it towards the goal, but Kalba’s defense cleared it.

To increase the attacking pressure, head coach Rui Vitória made substitutions, bringing on Brahian Palacios in place of Serginho, while Leandro Spadacio, Fabio Lima, and Renato Tapia came on as substitutes for Ali Saleh, Nicolas Gimenez, and Ridwan PoPoola, and Hugo Neto left the pitch to be replaced by Abdelrahman Saleh.

Substitute Brahian Palacios quickly made his mark by creating Al Wasl’s third goal with a cross into the Kalba penalty area, which Renato Junior followed with a powerful header that found the net, announcing the Emperor’s third goal. Fabio Lima came close to scoring the fourth goal in the 81st minute with a powerful shot that Kalba goalkeeper Sultan Almentheri  cleared, and four minutes later, Almentheri  cleared a powerful shot from Brahian Palacios that almost found the net.

The score remained unchanged, and the referee’s final whistle announced Al Wasl’s victory, with the team currently topping the league standings with six points, pending the conclusion of the round.