Al Rayyan upstaged champions Al Sadd 4-0 in the final Week 22 match of 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League on their home turf at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium yesterday.The 15th win of the season for the Lions, the same number as that of Al Sadd, saw them finish the league championship with a tally of 47 points, two less than that of The Wolves who claimed the Falcon Shield last week.The goals for Al Rayyan came from Roger Guedes (15th minute), Rodrigo Moreno (50th minute), Gabriel Pereira (89th minute) and Ahmed al-Rawi (90+3 minute).In the 8th minute of the match Al Rayyan came very close to opening the account when following a corner kick the ball flew off a defender’s head for an alert Guedes near the right post to make a header but the ball hit the bottom of the right post and fell away.Guedes however made amends seven minutes later as grabbed an Ahmed Al Minhali’s pass from inside the box back to the top of the box to drive in a left-footer (1-0).Al Rayyan hit again soon in the second half with a flag kick and Moreno’s header hit the centre of the crossbar before the ball dived into the goal (2-0).Just at the hour mark, Al Sadd’s star Akram Afif drove in a long ball from ten yards outside the box on the left but it was pushed out by a leaping Al Rayyan goalkeeper Fahad Younis. In the 78th minute, Guedes sent the ball into the net but VAR ruled offside.With the game picking up more pace towards the end, the Lions gained on a counter as Rodrigo Tabata provided a fine assist to Pereira inside the box and he beat the goalkeeper with ease (3-0).In added time, Tabata again made a long ball and this time to an unmarked al-Rawi who rushed in to score his team’s fourth goal of the match.Interestingly, Al Sadd had defeated Al Rayyan by the same margin in the first leg meeting. The runners-up finish in the league for Al Rayyan also means that they have made the grade for AFC Champions League Qualifiers.Belhanda strike helpsShamal beat Gharafa 1-0Al Shamal registered a season-ending 1-0 win over Al Gharafa at the Al Bayt Stadium yesterday.Al Shamal’s winner was scored by Younes Belhanda in 45+3 minute of the match and took the team’s points tally to 25 and saw them finish the league championship in ninth place in the overall standings. Al Gharafa ended up as the third best team with 44 points while Al Wakrah with 38 points are fourth. The top four teams (along with champions Al Sadd) qualify for the Qatar Cup.Al Shamal shocked their fancied rivals just before the half time whistle as Belhanda at the top of the box moved the ball from his right to the left foxing three defenders before driving into the right corner of the net.While Al Gharafa’s star Yacine Brahimi did excel with his individual brilliance later in the game, the Cheetahs could not succeed in breaking the Al Shamal defence.Al Shamal ended the league with a total of 6 wins, 7 draws and 9 losses as against Al Gharafa’s 13 wins, 5 draws and 4 defeats.Markhiya escape relegationAl Markhiya escaped relegation and clinched the relegation play-off spot with a fighting 1-1 draw against Umm Salal at the Grand Hamad Stadium of Al Arabi Club yesterday. While Kenji Gorre struck the opening goal for Umm Salal in the 7th minute of the match, the crucial equalizer for Al Markhiya came from Driss Fettouhi in the 33rd minute.Al Markhiya thereon did well to defend their citadel and ensure a stalemate. With Muaither going down 3-4 to Al Arabi in the other Week 22 match played simultaneously, Al Markhiya’s passage became clear.Al Markhiya ended the league championship in the 11th place in the rankings with 18 points (with 5 wins, 3 draws and 14 losses) while Umm Salal finished in seventh place with 28 points (7 wins, 7 draws and 8 losses). Muaither finished at the bottom in 12th place with 14 points (3 wins, 5 draws and 14 losses). Umm Salal began the clash against Al Markhiya on a bright note when their Gambian forward Nije got to a long ball following a counter. Unmarked on the left and inside the box, he gave little chance to the defenders as he struck on the bounce into the far right corner.Al Markhiya then showed superb resilience as they matched their rivals looking to attack and soon they got the opportunity as Talal al-Shila crossed over the ball from the right flank to Fettouhi in the centre, who moved to the left before sending in a powerful left-foot kick which swung into the right corner of the net.It was the Moroccan midfielder Fettouhi’s fourth goal of the season and one of the most important ones for Al Markhiya. Al Markhiya will now play the relegation play-off match against Al Shahania, the result of which will decide which team stays in the league.On the last day of the league matches, Qatar SC defeated Al Duhail 4-2, Al Arabi beat Muaither 4-3 and Al Ahli registered a 1-0 win over Al Wakrah.