Al Duhail and Al Wakrah returned from the international break with important victories in the Qatar Stars League on Thursday. Duhail ended Al Shamal’s unbeaten start with a convincing 4-0 win while Wakrah edged Al Gharafa 3-2 with a stoppage-time winner.
The results reshaped the upper half of the table, with Duhail moving up to third place with nine points and Wakrah securing their first win of the season to go to seventh with five points. Shamal dropped down one place to fourth with nine points, while Gharafa are 10th in the table.
At Al Bayt Stadium, Al Duhail produced a dominant display to rout Al Shamal and hand them their first defeat of the campaign. Polish striker Krzysztof Piątek opened the scoring in the 14th minute, giving Duhail a 1-0 lead at half-time.
The Red Knights then put the result beyond doubt with two goals in a five-minute spell after the break. Omar Sekou doubled their advantage in the 67th minute before Qatar international Almoez Ali made it 3-0 five minutes later. Mubarak Shanan completed the thrashing in stoppage time with a superb right-footed strike from outside the box that flew into the bottom corner.
At the Khalifa International Stadium, Gelson Dala scored twice, including a stoppage-time winner, as Al Wakrah edged Al Gharafa for their first victory of the season. Aissa Laidouni put Wakrah ahead in the 38th minute after capitalising on a defensive lapse and firing home from the edge of the box.
Al Gharafa levelled through Ferjani Sassi, who headed home, before Yacine Brahimi converted a penalty deep into first-half stoppage time to put his side 2-1 ahead.
Dala restored parity in the 78th minute after El Amin Zahzouh's penalty was saved by Al Gharafa goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar. The ball struck the post and fell to Dala, who reacted quickly to score. The Angolan then struck again in the third minute of stoppage time, with his effort from inside the box slipping through Ababacar's grasp and into the net to seal a dramatic win for Wakrah.
Sadd face Arabi
Attention now turns to the top of the table, with leaders Al Sadd hosting Al Arabi at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Friday. Defending champions Sadd have won all four matches and lead the standings with 12 points after their 6-3 victory over Al Sailiya before the international break. Razvan Lucescu's side are aiming for a fifth successive win as they chase a fourth consecutive league title.
Al Arabi are fourth on six points after one win and three draws. They drew 1-1 with Qatar SC in their previous match and will be looking to close the gap on the leaders.
Sadd's preparations were affected by the Gulf Cup, with nine of their players involved with Qatar compared with two from Al Arabi.
Lucescu said Sadd are ready for what he expects to be a difficult encounter. "Facing Al Arabi will be complicated, because they are a team that does not give up and fights until the last moment in every match they play, in addition to their players having high physical abilities, so Al Sadd players must be at their peak of focus in order to achieve victory."
Al Arabi coach Cosmin Contra said facing the defending champions provided enough motivation for his players. "Facing the league champion and the best team of the last ten years in Qatar does not require additional motivation for the players; everyone has enough enthusiasm to play this kind of big game."
Contra added that the break had allowed Al Arabi to regroup and work on their technical and tactical aspects. He said Al Arabi would look to maintain their strong start while becoming more clinical in front of goal.
Meanwhile, second-placed Al Rayyan, on 10 points, face Qatar SC at Lusail Stadium today. Rayyan have won three and drawn one of their four matches and will be aiming for a fourth victory after beating Al Ahli 3-0 in their previous game. Qatar SC are 11th with two points from two draws and two defeats.
Fixtures
On Friday: Qatar SC vs Al Rayyan at Lusail Stadium | 5:45pm; Al Sadd vs Al Arabi at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium | 8:00pm
On Saturday: Al Shahaniya vs Lusail at Khalifa International Stadium | 5:45pm; Al Ahli vs Al Sailiya at Al Thumama Stadium | 8:00pm
