The Portuguese national had talked up his chances of winning the tournament at his press conference on Wednesday but all his confidence proved misplaced as Lekhwiya romped to a 4-1 victory at the Al Ahli Stadium.
Lekhwiya coach Djamel Belmadi (left) is a picture of joy as he celebrates with his players, while Al Sadd’s Jesualdo Ferreira (right) cuts a sorry figure.
The traditional season-opener in Qatar had been rescheduled because of fixture congestion and had to be slotted on an off day for the AFC U23 Championship currently being played in Doha.
The decision came as a blessing of sorts for Ferreira who replaced Hussein Amotta with the Qatar Stars League barely a few days old and was keen on stamping his mark on the Qatar coaching scene by upsetting favourites Lekhwiya who have been the dominating force in Qatar ever since they burst onto the scene five years ago.
Yesterday, however, Al Sadd once again found Lekhwiya a massive obstacle in their path to mid-season bragging rights and caved in to the pressure of having to defend their title.
Lekhwiya, who have won the Qatar Stars League four times in five years, scored thrice in the second session to extend their domination over the Wolves with Ismail Mohamed, Mohamed Razaq, Nam Tae-hee and Wladimir Weiss on target.
Despite the fact that the Qatar Stars League is enjoying a break due to the AFC event, Lekhwiya and Al Sadd showed no rustiness and went about their business with determination. The pace was often frenetic and the intent unmissable.
An early foray by Al Sadd fetched them a free-kick just outside the penalty area when Brazilian Muriqui was brought down just outside the penalty area. Captain Xavi, who took the 20 metre shot, however went wide.
Then, moments after Yousuf Msakni was hurried into a shot by the Al Sadd defence, the Tunisian produced a sublime pass in the 18th minute to help Lekhwiya get on the scoreboard.
Karim Boudaif passed the ball over to Msakni on the left flank and the Lekhwiya stalwart sliced open the defence with a measured shot leaving the advancing Ismail with the easiest of tap-ins.
Lekhwiya consolidated in the first minute after resumption when Razaq latched on to a long pass and dribbled past goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb to score from a difficult angle.
Al Sadd never gave up trying and found the mark through a bullet shot by Mashal Qassim who profited from a Xavi pass in the 50th minute.
However, 10 minutes later, Al Sadd conceded a penalty and Luiz Martin was brought down by Ibrahim Majid and Korean Nam converted from the spot.
Al Sadd then got close to the Lekhwiya goal but Xavi volleyed over from six yards out in the 77th minute and Hassan al-Haydos also failed to make good of a decent chance moments later.
Goal-scorer Ismail Mohamed then was substituted by Wladimir Weiss and the Slovak made an immediate impact on the game with a cracker of a goal.
On a pass from Boudaif, Weiss advanced into the penalty area and made a mockery of the Al Sadd defence before shooting under goalkeeper al-Sheeb in the 87th minute to complete the rout.
Lekhwiya coach Djamel Belmadi was thrilled after his team’s win.
“Despite the long break, everybody was up to the task on hand. They played good football and the victory in the Sheikh Jassim Cup surely has come as a morale-boost before the Qatar Stars League resumes,” he said.
Al Sadd’s Ferreira was understandably dejected. “We had our chances but we didn’t take them. My congratulations to Lekhwiya.”
