Al Wasl fared better in the opening exchanges, Siaka Sidibe with a long range drive that Sergio Rico had to deal with, with the Malian midfielder then producing a delicate chip for Ali Saleh who nodded it wide.

Al Gharafa were limited to shots from distance through attempts from Fabricio Diaz and Jose, with neither troubling Al Wasl goalkeeper Khaled Alsenani.

With 10 minutes left to play in the first half, Joselu found space just inside the Al Wasl box but just when the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League winner was about to pull the trigger, Salem Alazizi slid in to make a crucial block.

Building on that, Al Gharafa opened the scoring in the 44th minute when a short corner saw Florinel Coman drilling in a cross that hit Haris Seferovic and bounced kindly for Ferjani Sassi to guide home past Alsenani.

Al Wasl had a good chance to equalise nine minutes into the second half after Nicolas Gimenez surged on the left before finding Fabio Lima in the box, only for the UAE international to send his header wide.

Next to go close were Al Gharafa - Coman embarked on a mazy run before cutting the ball back to Joselu, only for the Spaniard to send his shot into the wrong side of the post before Sassi headed wide from close range.

Al Wasl were given a lifeline in the 84th minute when Abdallah Yousif was penalised for using his hand to block Lima’s shot, with the latter stepping to convert the spot-kick.

The turnaround for Al Wasl was completed two minutes into added time when Alexis Fontanilla’s cross from the left was turned in by Isaac Success for the winner.

Al Gharafa will meet Islamic Republic of Iran’s Persepolis FC on November 4 with Al Wasl hosting Al Sadd SC of Qatar in Dubai on the same day.