Arabian Gulf League matchweek 5 roundup
Al Ain finished matchweek 5 top of the Arabian Gulf League standings with 13 points, one point ahead of Al Wahda in second place, Al Wasl with 11 points in third place and Shabab Al Ahli in fourth place with 10. Behind them sit both Al Nasr and Dibba with seven points, Al Dhafra with six, followed by Al Jazira with five points and Emirates with four, ahead of two teams tied on three points (Ajman, Hatta) and finally Sharjah in last place with two points. Six games took place over the weekend, with three games ending in a draw, while Ajman and Al Ain both secured important away wins. Al Wahda was the only team to win at home this week, in a round that saw a drop in the amount of goals scored (nine only), with an average of 1.5 goals scored per game; the worst in the current season. This was much less than the previous round which saw a total of 25 goals scored. Dibba and Al Dhafra played out a 1-1 draw at the Fujairah stadium to open matchweek 5 while Al Wahda scored three against Hatta's lone goal in the second Thursday fixture. Friday saw Ajman earn their first win of the season against Al Nasr 1-0 and a goalless draw ended the game between Al Wasl and Al Jazira at the latter's stadium. On day three, Al Ain defeated Emirates 2-0 to move top of the table, while a second 0-0 draw of the week came between Sharjah and Shabab Al Ahli. No red cards were brandished in matchweek 5, but 30 players were booked across the six games. The encounter between Al Wahda and Hatta was the least disciplined with nine yellow cards - five issued to Hatta players and four to Al Wahda - meanwhile Al Ain and Emirates only had one yellow cards each in their game. Dibba were the only side to come out with no yellow cards this weekend. In terms of the goalscoring charts, nothing changed as both Fabio de Lima and Makhete Diop failed to score, however they both stayed at the top of the charts with six goals each. Sebastian Tagliabue, added his fifth goal of the season against Hatta to sit one goal behind the leaders, tied with Al Dhafra's Ailton Almeida. Looking at managerial changes, Abdulaziz Al Anbari replaced Jose Peseiro as Sharjah manager, becoming the second new manager this league season after Nizar Mahrous replaced Gjokica Hadzievski at Hatta. Al Anbari became the first Emirati coach in the league this season, and the fourth Arab alongside Nizar Mahrous, Mohammed Quaid and Ayman Al Ramadi.
