Baniyas suffered a 4-2 defeat against Al Ain at Baniyas Stadium in the opening round of the 2026/27 ADNOC Pro League season.

The Sky Blues made a strong start to the contest and established an early attacking presence, with Youssouf Niakaté opening the scoring in the 15th minute.

Baniyas continued to threaten going forward, and Niakaté struck again in the 42nd minute, completing his brace and doubling the Sky Blues’ advantage.

Al Ain managed to reduce the deficit just before the interval, with Soufiane Rahimi converting a penalty in the second minute of first-half stoppage time (45+2), sending Baniyas into the break with a 2-1 lead.

Both sides continued to push forward after the restart, before Baniyas were reduced to ten men following a red card in the 74th minute.

Al Ain capitalised on their numerical advantage, with El Mehdi Rahimi scoring the equaliser in the 81st minute before finding the net again in the seventh minute of stoppage time (90+7) to put the visitors ahead.

In the closing moments, Kaku added Al Ain’s fourth goal in the 10th minute of stoppage time (90+10), bringing the match to a 4-2 conclusion.

Following the result, Baniyas will turn their attention to the upcoming fixtures as the team looks to bounce back and secure a positive result in the next round of the ADNOC Pro League.