Bani Yas have hit top spot in the Arabian Gulf League-table after goals from Ishak Belfodil, Joaquin Larrivey and Fawaz Awana saw off 10-man Emirates Club on Friday night.

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Luis Garcia’s men were far too good for their mid-table opponents, taking a temporary one-point lead into the remaining fixtures of this round. It was Algeria forward Belfodil who got them off to a flyer, recovering from an earlier miss to fire in a perfect first-time finish in the 19th minute. Both sides then struck the woodwork in a thrilling end to the half, Royston Drenthe going close for the visitors before Eissa Abdulla narrowly missed out.

The Sky Blues raced out of sight after the break. A cushioned header from Argentine striker Larrivey in the 52nd minute saw him join compatriot Sebastian Tagliabue of Al Wahda at the top of the scoring charts with six.

A hectic end featured defender Alhasan Saleh picking up his second yellow card, midfielder Fawaz Awana then making it 3-0.

Meanwhile, Al Ahli came back from a goal down on Thursday to secure a 3-1 triumph against struggling Sharjah.

The AFC Champions League semi-finalists were stunned when midfielder Maicosuel tucked away from close range on 34 minutes. The Red Knights then responded with a second-half show of force.

UAE midfielder Habib Fardan headed home the leveller, €17 million (Dh70.9m) buy Moussa Sow broke his duck with a fine individual effort before summer purchase Lima kept up his record of scoring in every game with a header against opponents who had seen defender Hamdan Qassim dismissed.