Al Sadd emerge 17th time champions

Al Sadd emerged 17th time Qatar Stars League champions as they beat Al Shamal 4-0 in the penultimate match of Expo Stars League of the 2023-24 season at the Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday.
The Wolves crowned themselves with glory registering a thumping 15th win of the season against Al Shamal with goals from captain Hassan al-Haydos (9th minute), Gonzalo Plata (26th minute), Akram Afif (83rd minute-penalty), Paulo Otavio (90+5’ minute).
Al Sadd went up as clear leaders on the table with a whopping tally of 49 points having registered 15 wins, 4 draws and with only 2 reversals through the season.
They still have a game (Week 22) against Al Rayyan to play, the celebrations for the fans of Al Sadd have already begun.
Al Shamal remained in eight place in the rankings with 22 points (coming from 5 wins, 7 draws and 9 defeats).
Al Shamal made matters worse for themselves, first in the 40th minute when Omid Ebrahimi was shown the red card for a rough tackle against Al Sadd’s Boualem Khoukhi.
The referee changed his decision from yellow to red following a VAR. And, later in the 73rd minute Al Shamal’s Fahad Waad was given the marching for committing a foul against Plata and threatening to be physical. The referee also reprimanded Al Sadd’s Plata with a red card.
While Al Shamal tried their best and even had a few close calls early in the game, they were clearly outclassed by the champions.
Al Shamal received the first big setback as their Colombian professional Jesion Ceron in stopper-back position and left-top of the box fumbled a little and erred while trying to cross the ball as Haydos in the centre coolly grabbed the chance and beat the goalkeeper, firing in the opening goal.
Al Sadd then added to their lead with Ecuadorian professional Plata holding back the Al Shamal defence as he barged in to unleash a left foot strike which touched the fingers of the goalkeeper and hit the bottom left post before going in.
Al Sadd then gained a spot kick after Afif was brought down while going for a bicycle kick just on the edge of the box on the right by Ceron. VAR confirmed the decision and Afif went on to bag his 26th goal of the season to remain the highest goal-scorer of the season. Two minutes later, (85th minute) Baghdad Bounedjah came close to adding another goal for Al Sadd but his kick fell out after hitting the right post.
Paulo Otavio, however, provided the icing on the cake for Al Sadd in the added time as he made the most of Haydos pass to score after Bounedjah held back a slew of Al Shamal defenders.
The thrill of the goal and the victory added to Al Sadd fans delight as the players soon joined in the celebrations.
Al Markhiya battled from being a goal down to defeat Al Arabi 2-1 in their crucial clash at the Al Thumama Stadium on Wednesday. Star striker Yusupha Nije (41st minute) and Talal al-Shila (87th minute) scored for Al Markhiya after Omar Al Somah (7th minute-penalty) had provided Al Arabi the lead.
Their fifth win of the season saw Al Markhiya elevate themselves to the relegation play-off spot in 11th place in the rankings (with 17 points to their credit) after being bottom-placed all through, while Al Arabi slid to 7th position after seventh loss of the season, remaining on 26 points.
Al Markhiya and the now bottom-placed Muaither, who lost to Qatar SC 3-5, have been in a battle of the relegation zone and the former will seek to rise further in the final week when Al Markhiya will meet Umm Salal, and Muaither will battle Al Arabi.
In other matches, Al Gharafa beat Al Wakrah 4-2 while Al Rayyan eased past Al Ahli 4-1. In the last match of the day, Umm Salal beat Al Duhail 2-0.