Second-place Sharjah was unexpectedly beaten 1-0 at home by Al Bataeh on Sunday to dent its title challenge.
The result left Shabab Al Ahli with a seven-point lead, having played the same number of games as Sharjah.
On the other hand, Al Bataeh's win was essential to boost their ADNOC Pro League survival hopes.
Anatole Bertrand's 43rd-minute header secured a win for Al Bataeh, which arrived at Sharjah stadium with just one victory in its last four games.
Two minutes before the break, Anatole Bertrand found the breakthrough and fired Al Bataeh in front to score the only goal of the game after timing his run perfectly to head in Ulrich Sidoine's pinpoint cross.
The result means that Al Bataeh are 12 with 15 points, while Sharjah remain second with 37 points.
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