ABU DHABI // Ricardo Oliveira and Bare turned on the samba style and won the battle of the strikers as the Brazilians combined to down Baniyas and send Al Jazira top of the Pro League.
With David Trezeguet, Baniyas' French World Cup-winning striker, who was recruited in the summer, lining up at one end, and Oliveira, the Pro League's most costliest transfer at Dh62 million, at the other, the match always promised goals.
However, it was Oliveira who stole the show with a man-of-the-match performance and moved to the top of the goal scoring charts with his fourth and fifth goals of the campaign, as Trezeguet once again failed to spark Jorvan Vieira's side.
Baniyas remain winless in their opening three Pro League fixtures with just a single point, and sit at the bottom of the table, while the victory allowed Jazira to leapfrog Al Wasl at the top of the table on goal difference after Diego Maradona's side had earlier drawn with Ajman.
Oliveira scored twice in the second half, his first a work of individual brilliance, after Bare had given Franky Vercauteren, the Jazira coach, a perfect birthday present with a 38th-minute lead.
And Vercauteren's side continued to put on a show for the 12, 326 crowd at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium last night.
"I thank the players for the best present they gave me on my birthday," said Vercauteren. "It is always nice feeling to speak after a win, and I understand the plight of my fellow coach on the other side and how he feels. Nobody likes to lose.
"We had a few difficult moments which we managed to overcome, and then there were some good moments from which we scored. Overall, we played better and won. We created chances and we scored from them."
Oliveira was the architect of the victory, having a hand in the opening goal for his countryman, Bare, before helping the Abu Dhabi club regain the lead after a Yousuf Jaber penalty had pegged Baniyas back, and then sealing the win in injury time with his own spot kick.
There was plenty of action from the first whistle. Juma Abdulla's powerful header off a Matias Delgado free kick sailed agonisingly past the near post after Jazira survived an early scare when a similar effort from Andre Senghor cannoned off the crossbar.
Then came Bare's effort, a glancing header off a Delgado cross thatBaniyas also to survived.
Bare, handed his first start in three games, repaid his coach's faith in selecting him with the opening goal seven minutes before half time. The striker, 29, gave the home side the lead when he was in position to tap home after Oliveira's low shot was blocked Mohammed Ali Ghuloom, the Baniyas goalkeeper.
Baniyas, who finished runner-up to Jazira in the league last season, went into the break on level terms on Jaber's penalty conversion.
However, the second half turned into a show of Brazilian flair, with Oliveira the headline act.
The former Valencia and AC Milan striker displayed all his attributes to restore Jazira's lead - skill, pace and precision.
First, he expertly controlled a long ball before blitzing past the entire Baniyas back line and rounding the goalkeeper before slotting home.
The ineffectual Trezeguet was replaced in the 70th minute by the club's new signing, the Ivorian forward Toni, who nearly equalised for Baniyas.
His low shot from inside the box was pushed out by Khalid Essa, the Jazira goalkeeper, as the home side survived some anxious moments before Oliveria stepped up to convert a penalty in the third minute of time added on, after Fahad Feraish had brought down Ibrahim Diaky.
A surprisingly upbeat Vieira said afterwards: "We were not lucky. I don't blame my players because they did their best. We have one point from three games is nothing to worry about".
