Al-Haydos brace leads Al Sadd rout of Umm Salal; Ahli stun Duhail

Captain Hassan al-Haydos fired a brace as leaders Al Sadd crushed Umm Salal 6-0 to head into the Expo Stars League break with a four-point lead as Al Ahli piled more misery on defending champions Al Duhail with a 5-3 win on Thursday.
After suffering a defeat to Al Arabi last week, Al Sadd bounced back strongly with al-Haydos (14th and 49th minutes) scoring in either halves. Gonzalo Plata had put the hosts ahead in the 10th minute at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium with Akram Afif also scoring in 18th minute.
Guilherme Torres wrapped up the dominant victory with a strike in the 69th minute as Al Sadd had also benefited from Naim Laidouni’s own goal in 43rd minute.
The win took Al Sadd’s tally to 31 points with Al Wakrah and Al Gharafa having 27 points each. The league will resume on February 14, 2024 after the AFC Asian Cup Qatar, which will be held from January 12 to February 10.
Al Sadd coach Wesam Rizik expressed his delight on the victory. “We secured three crucial points, adding to the team’s tally and widening the gap to 4 points ahead of the closest competitors. The result reflects the outstanding performance we displayed against Umm Salal,” he said.
“We dominated the game from the beginning, and I thank the players for their efforts throughout the match. We thank God for what the team has achieved in the recent matches, which witnessed significant pressure and a series of games. However, we managed to extend our lead at the top before the upcoming break,” he added.
Earlier at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium, Al Ahli displayed a fine show to beat Al Duhail, who stayed on sixth with 17 points.
With Al Ahli taking the lead after Yousef Aymen’s own goal in second minute, Sekou Yansane (35th and 80th minutes), Yazan Al Naimat (seventh minute) and Naim Sliti (90+6 minutes) scored for the Brigadiers. Almoez Ali (31), Ismail Mohamed (45+5) and Mohamed Muntari (83rd minute) were the scorers for Al Duhail. Al Ahli climbed to ninth in the standings with 12 points following the victory.