Al Duhail got back to good old ways with a crushing 6-1 win over Al Khor in the QNB Stars League at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium yesterday. The reigning champions have struggled this season but yesterday they were in fine form. 
Sabri Lamouchi’s are now sixth with 18 points after posting their sixth win of the season. But they are still way behind leaders Sadd, who are on 25 points with a game in hand. Paulo Edmilson was the star of the show with a brace in the 11th and 74th minutes. Mohamed Muntari (fifth minute), Eduardo Rodrigues (60th-minute penalty), Abdullah Abdulsalam al-Ahrak (80th minute) and Ahmed Yasser (86th minute) also scored for Duhail. Leonardo De Souza scored the only goal for Al Khor in the 64th minute, as they crashed to their fifth defeat and stood on seven points.
The match got off to a fast pace, with Al Duhail kicking up a storm from the kick-off. A slick team effort helped them open the scoring. After receiving a cross from the centre of the field, Edmilson charged ahead on the right flank and entered the Al Khor box. Despite being under pressure from an Al Khor marker, Edmilson slipped a neat cross for Muntari, who easily deflected the ball into the net from close range.
With Al Khor struggling for momentum, Al Duhail jumped to a 2-0 cushion in the 12th minute. This time, Edmilson, who had assisted in the first goal, capped a threatening move with a goal. After receiving a short cross from the corner of the Al Khor box from Eduardo Rodrigues (Dudu), Edmilson calmly slotted the ball home from close range.
In the 19th minute, Al Khor’s Leonardo curled in a beautifully-taken free-kick, but Khaled Hassan’s tap from close range narrowly missed the net. In the 34th minute, Leonardo produced a spectacular shot from inside the Al Duhail box, but the move was blocked by Martin keeping a tight lid on the backline.
Three minutes into the second half, Edmilson, after breaking into the Al Khor box, fired a bullet, but his shot was blocked by keeper Baba Djibril. Seven minutes later, Giannis fired a top shot from the edge of the, but Al Khor captain Helal Mohamed blocked the shot with a short jump.
On the hour mark, Al Duhail went 3-0 after Dudu easily converted a penalty. Musab Abdulmajid produced a rough tackle while clearing the ball leaving Sultan al-Breik holding his ankle. Refeere Hamad al-Subaie sought VAR assistance before confirming the penalty that was easily converted by Rodrigues.
Leonardo reduced the margin of defeat with a slick snap-header off a long cross from the flank. Ten minutes later, Edmilson tapped home with a sliding flick from close range on a cross from Dudu for Al Duhail’s fourth goal. Al-Ahrak and Ahmed Yasser then joined the scorers’ list with close-range efforts.
Meanwhile, Al Gharafa climbed to second in the standing with a narrow 1-0 win over Al Wakrah 1-0. The only goal of the match came when Gharafa’s Homam Elamin’s shot was deflected into the goal by Al Wakrah’s Ali Karami in the eighth minute.
Al Gharafa, with their seventh victory, moved on to 21 points, while Al Wakrah suffered their sixth defeat and remained on 10 points. Al Gharafa dominated the match early on and got the goal that gave them vital three points.
A couple of minutes after taking the lead, Al Gharafa wreaked havoc in the rival goal as Al Wakrah defender Ousmane Coulibaly had to effect a sliding save near the goalline off a shot by Amro Seraj when goalkeeper Mohamed Saeed had left his charge. Al Wakrah spearhead Mohamed Benyettou had their best chance in the first half, but his header off a free-kick taken by Cristian Ceballos went narrowly wide.
Al Gharafa utilised the flanks more, especially on the left through which Homam and Jonathan Kodjia launched their raids. Homam had a shot saved by Ali Karami in the 35th minute.
At the other end, Al Wakrah’s Murad Naji’s shot was deflected by teammate Omar Ali straight to Al Gharafa goalkeeper Salah Zakaria. Al Wakrah upped the ante in the second half and, a few minutes after resumption, Benyettou’s header was parried by the goalkeeper.
They were unlucky not to have scored as Omar’s goal in the 90th minute was ruled offside. Ceballos and Omar too tried hard, in vain. Al Gharafa too had their chances during the session. Kodjia’s shot was blocked by the goalkeeper, Ahmed al-Janahi missed a sitter by skiing his shot from close and Sofiane Hanni sent his free-kick straight to the hands of the goalkeeper.
Elsewhere, Umm Salal held Al Sailiya to a fighting 1-1 draw. Al Sailiya and Umm Salal have 12 and nine points respectively. Umm Salal got the lead early in the game. Omar Rabah charged into the Al Sailiya box and fired a powerful shot that was blocked by keeper Amine. And the ball landed a few feet away from him. In an effort to clear the ball, Al Sailiya defender Mostafa Mohamed produced a sliding move that resulted in the ball hitting Amine before going into the net.
Two minutes into the second half, Al Sailiya pulled off the equaliser. Ilyas, after a brief tussle with Roozbeh near the corner flag, slipped in a neat cross for an unmarked Tiago, who curled in a spectacular shot taken from the edge of Umm Salal box.