Video: Morocco’s Yahya Bin Khaliq scores historic goal to power Al Ain to the summit of UAE League

Yahya Ben Khaliq was the star of the show as Al Ain FC secured a 2-0 win over Al Wasl FC on Thursday evening at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, in Round 19 of the UAE ADNOC Professional Football League.

Matias Palacios opened the scoring just two minutes into the match, and Ben Khaliq, a former Fath Rabat defender turned forward, doubled the lead in the 20th minute, marking his first goal for the purple team.

Speaking after the game, Ben Khaliq emphasised the team’s focus on each match as it comes, saying, “Al Zaeem deals with each match separately and to win, until we are crowned with the league title at the end of the season.”

He added, “It was important for us to win the match, especially after Shabab Al Ahli’s victory in this round. Every player gave his all in the Al Wasl match, and we were able to win in the end. This match will give us a great morale boost before the Al Wahda match in the next round.”

With the win, Al Ain climbed to 47 points to reclaim the top spot in the league standings, one point ahead of Shabab Al Ahli. Al Wasl, meanwhile, remained in fifth place with 30 points.