Brazilian winger Caio Lucas inspires Sharjah to huge win in Asian Champions League

A 4-1 victory over Pakhtakor lifts the Emirati side four points clear at halfway stage of qualifying

Sharjah's midfielder Caio Lucas, centre, celebrates his goal with teammates during the AFC Champions League group B match between UAE's Sharjah FC and Uzbekistan's Pakhtakor at the Sharjah football stadium. AFP

Pakhtakor's goalkeeper Sanjar Kuvvatov battles for the ball with Sharjah's defender Abdullah Ghanem. AFP

Pakhtakor's midfielder Khojimat Erkinov, third right, is marked by Sharjah's midfielder Luanzinho, second right, and Sharjah's defender Shahin Abdulrahman, centre. AFP

Sharjah's midfielder Otabek Shukurov, left, battles for the ball with Pakhtakor's forward Dragan Ceran. AFP

Pakhtakor's forward Dragan Ceran, centre right, dribbles past Sharjah's defender Abdullah Ghanem. AFP

Sharjah's midfielder Khaled Ba Wazir lays down behind the wall. AFP

Pakhtakor's midfielder Khojimat Erkinov is marked by Sharjah's midfielder Luanzinho, left, and Sharjah's defender Khaled Ibrahim. AFP

Sharjah's midfielder Luanzinho vies for the ball with Pakhtakor's midfielder Abror Ismoilov, left. AFP

Sharjah's midfielder Luanzinho vies for the ball with Pakhtakor's defender Ibrokhimkhalil Yuldashev, centre, and Pakhtakor's forward Sardor Rashidov. AFP

Sharjah's midfielder Luanzinho is marked by Pakhtakor's defender Anzur Ismailov, right, and Pakhtakor's midfielder Khojimat Erkinov, left. AFP

Sharjah's midfielder Caio attempts a free-kick. AFP

Sharjah's players celebrate another goal. AFP

Sharjah's players pose for a group picture ahead of the AFC Champions League group B match between UAE's Sharjah FC and Uzbekistan's Pakhtakor at the Sharjah football stadium. AFP

Sharjah took a huge step towards the Asian Champions League knockout stages on Tuesday night with a 4-1 win against Pakhtakor.

The 2018/19 UAE champions, already top of Group B, saw off their Uzbekistan opponents at Sharjah Stadium thanks to a Caio Lucas-inspired display.

The Brazilian winger, a 2016 finalist with Al Ain, registered a brilliant assist and scored a fine solo effort, while he was heavily involved in Sharjah’s other two goals.

The victory lifted the Emirati side to seven points, four points clear of second-placed Tractor FC at the halfway stage. Only the group winners are guaranteed to progress to the last 16. Each pool’s matches are played in centralised hubs, with Sharjah selected to host Group B.

It took the home side only 10 minutes to grab the lead against Pakhtakor, with Caio’s free-kick parried to Khalid Bawazir, who tapped the ball into the empty net. It marked the midfielder’s second goal of the tournament.

The visitors pulled level 11 minutes later, when Sharjah goalkeeper Adel Al Hosani was unfortunate to find the rebound from his excellent save fall to Dragan Ceran to pounce right on the goalline.

However, Sharjah were soon back in the lead, courtesy of Caio’s surge through a number of Pakhtakor players. He then squared expertly to Salem Saleh, who had the easiest of finishes.

Not long after the hour, Caio doubled his team’s advantage. Having been played through out wide by Bawazir, he raced towards goal and finished well past Uzbek goalkeeper Sanjar Kuvvatov.

Sharjah then made safe the points a few minutes later, when Luan Pereira’s ambitious effort from range took a heavy deflection before nestling in the net. The two sides meet again on Friday in Match Day 4.

Elsewhere, Al Wahda breathed life back into their Group E campaign, with a rousing, come-from-behind win against Qatar’s Al Rayyan in Goa.

The Abu Dhabi club found themselves two goals down not long after half-time at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, but rallied superbly to turn the match on its head. Goals from Maayed Al Ruwais and Khalil Ibrahim looked to have secured a draw for Wahda, only for defender Fares Juma to rise unmarked from a corner deep into injury-time and seal a remarkable turnaround.

The result was much-needed for Henk ten Cate’s men, who moved into second in their group on four points, five points behind Persepolis, last year’s beaten finalists. Wahda, now vying to advance to the knockouts as one of the best runners-up take on Al Rayyan once again on Friday.