Al Ahli need only one point from their remaining four Arabian Gulf League games after securing a dominant 3-1 win over Al Jazira at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.
Two goals in the space of three minutes towards the end of the first half, from Ahmed Khalil and Basher Saeed, put the Red Knights in command. Grafite’s penalty early in the second half then killed off their hosts’ challenge.
The game might have been different had Ali Mabkhout’s early disallowed goal stood, or if his 30th-minute strike had hit the back of the net and not the post. But in truth Jazira were always second-best as Ahli dictated the tempo and hogged possession.
Victory puts Cosmin Olaroiu’s side 12 points clear of second-placed Al Shabab meaning a point against Al Wasl on Thursday will confirm the club’s sixth league.
For their Romanian coach it would be an unprecedented third in three seasons in the UAE.
Jazira coach Walter Zenga meanwhile faces the unenviable task of raising his players ahead of the pair’s Arabian Gulf Cup final meeting in Al Ain on April 19.
Both coaches made changes for the game, but while Olaroiu’s were planned, Zenga’s were enforced. Ecuador striker Felipe Caicedo was suspended, while Abdullah Mousa’s injury meant midfielder Shin Hyung-Min had to start in an unfamiliar left-back role.
Perhaps unsurprisingly it was the champions elect who settled quicker against opponents who looked shattered following their recent exertions.
But after Khalil had flashed over an early warning, it was actually Jazira who had the ball in the back of the net first.
Their joy was short lived though as Mabkhout was adjudged to have handled before unleashing an unerring shot into the top corner.
On the half-hour mark the UAE striker then rattled the post as he collected an Abdelaziz Barrada pass wide on the right, tricked inside Abdulaziz Sanqoor and drove a shot around Saeed and Saif Yousif in the Ahli goal that thundered back off the woodwork.
Jazira’s chances had come on the break though. Their visitors commandeered possession in the first-half and with a passionate travelling support behind them they began to assert their dominance.
However, when their goal came it could be traced to a Jazira mistake. Barrada and Mabkhout tried to work a give-and-go on the edge of the Ahli box, but with the Spaniard in space his team-mate’s return was too light.
Saeed nipped in and within 30 seconds the ball had been pumped forward, where Grafite and Humaid Abbas combined to set Khalil free.
Ali Khaseif got a hand on the UAE striker’s shot but could not keep it out.
Quickly it was two, as Sabeal’s wild clearance led to a corner that Hugo Viana whipped into the box and Saeed hammered home. It was an especially sweet moment for the former Al Wahda man.
Mabkhout was denied a penalty on the stroke of half-time as he tangled with Walid Abbas but Khalil was given one by referee Abdulla Al Zaabi at the same end early in the second period, as Barrada caught Khalil with a high boot.
Khaseif again got a touch but Grafite made it 3-0 from the spot.
There were 40 minutes still to play and to their credit Jazira refused to give in and grabbed a consolation goal with four minutes left as Jucilei rose highest to head home Barrada’s free kick.
The game was long gone by then though and their visitors had taken their foot well and truly off the gas with the hard work done. That is exactly what awaits Zenga as he attempts to turn things around in less than two weeks.
