Al Sadd continued from where they left off as they beat Al Shahania 7-1 in the QNB Stars League at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium yesterday. 
 Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah led Al Sadd’s scoring act with four goals (eighth, 17th, 28th and 72nd minutes).
Boualem Khoukhi (24th), Abdelkarim Hassan (34th) and Hassan al-Haydos (44th minute) were The Wolves’ other scorers. Ali Ferydoon scored Shahania’s only goal in the 75th minute.
Al-Haydos thus recorded his 100th goal for Al Sadd with his strike yesterday.
Al Sadd remained on top of the QNB Stars League standings with six points. They had beaten Al Wakrah 4-1 in the opening round. Al Sadd dominated the ball with 60 per cent possession. They led 6-0 at half-time.
As expected, Al Sadd were in their element. On the contrary, Al Shahania could not offer their best levels against a marauding Al Sadd side, who were also helped by the good form of Qatar international striker Akram Afif, with the latter working in tandem with Bounedjah.
Al Sadd are now the only side in the 12-team competition with an all-win record. Al Shahania have yet to open their account and are lying at the bottom of the table.
Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez was delighted after a dominant win. “I am very happy with the performance and the huge result. We excelled in the first half and scored six goals. In the second half, Shahaniya defended well and prevented us from scoring more,” the Spaniard said.
“We are still at the start of the season. We are on the top but it’s just the beginning and we must continue in order to reach our objectives. I have a lot of confidence in all the players, including Jung Woo-young who always gives good performances. Mistakes can always happen in football. Jung helps us start attacks with his great passes,” he added.
Asked about the change of position for Boualem Khoukhi, Xavi said: “Khoukhi is a versatile player; he can play in many positions. I am very happy with him. Today, he scored a beautiful goal. I wanted to take off Khoukhi, Abdelkarim and Akram in order to give them some rest. I am really happy with all the players in the team and I am very lucky to have them.”
The former Barcelona midfielder congratulated al-Haydos, who scored his 100th goal for the club. “I am delighted that al-Haydos scored his 100th goal. Congratulations to him. He is an example for all the players. He is an unbelievable player, the captain of the national team and he always works for the team,” Xavi said. 
Meanwhile, Al Ahli piled more pressure on Al Sailiya, defeating them convincingly by a 3-0 margin at the Al Janoub Stadium.
Abel Hernandez (40th and 71st minutes) and Abdullah al-Ahrak (66th minute) scored for Al Ahli, who collected their first points, having lost 1-3 to Al Arabi in Week 1.
On the other hand, Al Sailiya would rue the lost points as they were locked in a 1-1 draw with Al Khor in their opener. The Peregrines, who finished in a creditable third position last season, have yet to settle into their stride this time after making many changes to the squad.
Al Ahli dominated their rivals and had more of the opportunities in the first half. The Brigadiers were rightly rewarded when Abel pounced on a faulty clearance by defender Hamad al-Abidi off a cross from the right by captain Nabil El Zhar.
El Zhar had a goal disallowed for offside 10 minutes into the match.
Al Sailiya’s Senegalese defender Serigne Mbodji, who showed enterprise in moving forward to the goal, was off-target, and Al Ahli’s Majed Mohmmed and Abel missed the mark as the first half ended in a one-goal advantage for Al Ahli.
Al Sailiya were desperate to neutralise their opponents’ edge and their players showed more enthusiasm, but it was Al Ahli who struck two more goals.
Al-Ahrak only had to tap in the ball to an open goal from close after El Zhar did all the hard work through the left flank. The winger even evaded goalkeeper Khalifa Aboobacker before crossing the ball to al-Ahrak. Al Ahli put it beyond Al Sailiya’s reach when Abel nodded in a headed cross by Mohamed  al-Abbassi from the right.