AGL Round 4 review: Al Shabab responding well to Rutten and Mabkhout’s form bodes well for club and country

Al Shabab maintained their 100 per cent winning start to the 2016/17 season with victory at Emirates, while Al Ain and Al Ahli proved they are still the teams to beat in the Arabian Gulf League, writes John McAuley.

Ali Mabkhout's hat-trick against Kalba took him to five league goals for the season. Pawan Singh / The National

Al Shabab thriving with Rutten

Friday's 1-0 victory at Emirates kept Al Shabab top, with a 100 per cent start to the season. Twelve points from 12 may not have been expected, but it suggests the club have taken quickly to manager Fred Rutten. The Dutchman was installed as Caio Junior's successor in May, even before the 2015/16 campaign had concluded, so he has had longer than his fellow new managers to instil his philosophy. Up until now, it is working. Rutten has been helped by Henrique Luvannor's rich form and Tomas De Vincenti's instant impact, and maybe an accommodating fixture list as well. The next two rounds will certainly test him, with Al Ahli and Al Ain to come. Yet Shabab should be given credit for bursting out of the blocks. Rutten, too.

Master Mabkhout finding his groove

Following a career-year last season, Ali Mabkhout said his greatest challenge would be to better it. The Al Jazira striker scored 23 times in the league, a professional-era record for an Emirati, and thus finished runner-up to Sebastian Tagliabue in the race for the Golden Boot. Mabkhout has begun this campaign well again, as his second-half hat-trick at Kalba attests. It took his league tally to five, two clear at the summit of the goalscorer standings, and is allied to two goals for the UAE against Thailand earlier this month. And the interesting thing is, Mabkhout has not yet hit top stride. At times, he has looked a little off the pace, particularly for the UAE, but his weekend treble will only aid his cause to improve upon last season. It also bodes well for his national team.

Repetto never felt right fit

Baniyas lost at home to Hatta on Saturday, a late turnaround and a late winner for the visitors, and Pablo Repetto paid with his job. Within 10 minutes, the Uruguayan was gone, as the club announced on Twitter that Jose Gomes was already in his place. It represented a miserable end to a miserable few months in charge – 86 days, in fact. Repetto arrived fresh from the glow of taking Ecuador's Independiente del Valle to the Copa Libertadores final, but that quickly dissipated, with his training methods and general approach soon questioned. No wins and six defeats from his eight matches emphasised his unsuitability to the role. Perhaps a little patience should have been exercised by Baniyas, who must take their share of the blame. But Repetto always seemed the wrong guy.

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Big two still the standouts

Al Ahli and Al Ain both won this round, both taking their league record to three wins from three this season, both proving they remain very much the teams to beat. The champions and last season's runners-up respectively, they overcame significant obstacles to continue their perfect start to the campaign. For Ahli, they were nowhere near their best at home to Dibba, but an eight-minute blitz in the second half took them from 1-1 to 4-1. Ultimately, their class told. Then, Al Ain put aside the physical and mental hangover from last week's Asian Champions League success to dispatch Al Nasr on Sunday, when their first-half display was championship-winning form. It constituted an ominous week's work from the league's Big Two.

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Aguirre and Jovanovic need a lift

Al Wahda were beaten by Al Wasl at home on Friday, Al Nasr beaten by Al Ain at home two days later. The two clubs each have one victory and three defeats from four attempts in the league this season, not good enough when considering they were each tipped to challenge Al Ahli and Al Ain at the top. So the pressure is mounting on their respective managers: Javier Aguirre at Wahda, Ivan Jovanovic at Nasr. Speculation continues that both clubs have begun to look for viable replacements, which seems unfortunate as Aguirre and Jovanovic have performed well during their time in the UAE. Wahda finished third last season; Nasr could have been in the Asian Champions League semi-finals. Results, though, need to improve – and fast.

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