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Defending champions Al Sadd’s unbeaten run continued but they were held to a 2-2 draw by Al Wakrah while Al Duhail thrashed Al Arabi 8-1 in the Qatar Stars League Saturday. Meanwhile, Al Shamal stayed top of the table even as their perfect start ended in a goalless stalemate with Al Gharafa.Redounae Berkane’s brace rescued a point for fourth-placed Al Wakrah against Al Sadd at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium. Sadd are in sixth place.Akram Afif opened the scoring for Al Sadd in the 18th minute with a sensational curling right-footed shot from the left side of the box after Al Wakrah's defence failed to properly clear a loose ball.With a goal up, Al Sadd were in cruise control from thereon until Ahmed Suhail appeared to have conceded a penalty in the 34th minute following what seemed to be a foul on Al Wakrah’s Hamdy Fathy in the penalty area. The initial call was, however, rescinded after a VAR check.Four minutes later, Al Sadd extended their advantage as Giovani Henrique found the back of the net after seizing the ball from Al Wakrah’s Lucas Mendes and executing a left-footed shot from the center of the box.Al Wakrah had a chance to reduce the deficit in the 55th minute when Lucas Verissimo was brought down by Al Sadd’s Pau Prim in the penalty area. Nevertheless, the resulting penalty was missed by Berkane.Berkane, however, atoned for his miss two minutes later as he latched on to a rebound from Aissa Laidouni to cut the deficit for The Blue Wave with a beautiful scissors kick from the centre of the box.The Algerian striker stunned The Wolves with his brace, deep in the penalty area, in the 73rd minute as Al Wakrah drew level with their hosts to ensure the tie ended a point apiece.Al Duhail moved to fifth in the table as they thrashed Al Arabi 8-1 at the Al Thumama Stadium. Goals for Al Duhail came from Krzysztof Piatek (third minute), Al Hashmi Al Hussain (26th minute own goal), Sultan Al Brake (34th minute), Luis Alberto (38th & 60th minutes), Adil Boulbina (51st and 68th minute penalty) and Benjamin Bourigeaud (78th minute penalty). Al Arabi’s only goal was scored by Pablo Sarabia (23rd minute).Al Arabi made matters worse for themselves when Keddari committed a foul in the 66th minute to be shown the red card after a second yellow. The Red Knights opened scoring with a fabulous header from Piatek off an Al Brake cross. Sarabia equalized for Al Arabi, striking on a second attempt against defenders.Al Hussain’s header while defending conceded an own goal as Al Duhail regained lead at 2-1 and just did not stop from there on. Al Brake struck a long ranger for the spectacular third goal.Boulbina also showed presence of mind as he flicked one over the goalkeeper for his team’s fifth goal.Al Duhail’s Piatek missed a penalty strike in the ninth minute shooting wide left of the target and later he struck the top left post in the 41st minute.At the Khalifa International Stadium, Al Shamal and Al Gharafa played a goalless draw. The captivating match puts an end to Al Shamal's impeccable 100 per cent win rate, having lost points for the first time in the season. They hold a three-point advantage over Qatars SC, who are in action Sunday.The encounter featured numerous missed opportunities in the first half, prominent was Al Shamal’s Baghdad Bounedjah’s obvious sitter, which he disappointingly directed at the goalkeeper, followed by a rebound that he headed against the post in the 37th minute, much to the dismay of the entire stadium.The latter half closely resembled the initial one, as both teams had chances to overturn the stalemate but failed to capitalise on them.With the match seemingly winding down, Al Gharafa’s Ferjani Sassi missed the last obvious chance of the day after his header from the centre of the box, following an assist by Yacine Brahimi in one minute of added time, went just inches wide to the left.

Al Shorta will have to dust off rust when they host Al Sadd SC in their opening AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 tie Monday.Al Shorta have yet to kick off their Iraqi domestic campaign while reigning Qatar champions Al Sadd will have the benefit of having already played several competitive matches.Both sides endured contrasting fortunes on the continental stage last season - Al Shorta's campaign ended in the League Stage while Al Sadd advanced to the quarter-finals."I'm happy to be in Baghdad, and I hope the match will be enjoyable for the fans," Al Sadd coach Felix Sanchez said Sunday. "We realize the importance of the tournament with its new format."What's most important now is for the players to be in the best possible condition for the match," he added.Al Sadd defender Tarqe Salman said Sunday: "A strong and somewhat a difficult match awaits us against the Shorta. Our loss against Al Shahaniya was a setback (in QSL), but we are capable of getting back on the right track."It will be a first meeting between the sides and the two will be determined to start on the front foot with Al Shorta having never won their opening AFC Champions League match while 2011 champions Al Sadd are winless in their last six curtain raisers.Al Shorta, in fact, only managed a single victory as they finished 11th in the League Stage last season.Al Sadd will be confident of taking the points, having ended a three-season wait by advancing to the knockout stage last season and the mercurial Akram Afif - who was involved in goals in each of his last five AFC Champions League Elite matches - will be expected to lead their charge.Sharjah FC (UAE) v Al Gharafa SCSharjah FC and Al Gharafa SC will target an opening day win when they square off in the AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 Monday.UAE's Sharjah will be aiming to maintain their momentum from their AFC Champions League Two 2024/25 triumph while Qatar's Al Gharafa will be determined to avoid last season's league stage exit.The sides have kicked off their respective domestic forms relatively well, with Sharjah in the upper half of the standings.Al Gharafa defeated Al Sailiya 2-0 on Friday to sit third in the Qatar Stars League standings and will look forward to a first meeting with Sharjah.The UAE side, who were held 2-2 by Khor Fakkan in their league tie on Friday, will be determined to maximise home ground advantage, with Sharjah having a poor record against teams from Qatar on the continental stage - having only won once in six previous encounters.Al Gharafa will be keen to avoid last season's troubles on the continental stage, where they won only two of their matches to finish 10th in the standings.

Al Shahania stunned defending champions Al Sadd 1-0 to secure their first win in the Qatar Stars League at the Al Bayt Stadium Friday.Shahania’s successful strike came in the 23rd minute, with Pelle van Amersfoort scoring intelligently after being in a one-on-one situation with Al Sadd’s Pedro Miguel in front of the goal. The Dutch player chose to lob the ball which went on to hit the top right post before going into the net.A sizzling second half had Al Sadd launching several robust attacks but in vain including a 56th minute Pau Prim powerful strike from outside the box which hit the crossbar.Goalkeeper Shehab Ellethy excelled under the bar for Al Shahania. Among his many saves was a standout in the 28nd minute when he leapt high to punch away a strong Youcef Atal shot.The result took Shahania’s tally to four points while displaying their strong defence which foiled many Al Sadd attempts to equalise, especially in the second half. Al Sadd suffered a second loss in the league and their tally remained on six points.Piatek hat-trick powers Duhail to victoryPolish striker Krzysztof Piatek scored a hat-trick as Al Duhail notched their first win, prevailing 4-2 over Umm Salal at the Khalifa International Stadium.Umm Salal led 2-1 at half-time, but Al Duhail hit back with three goals in the second session. The result took Al Duhail to four points, while Umm Salal’s tally remained on three.The fast-paced game saw its first big thrill in the 27th minute with Umm Salal’s Oussama Tannane essaying a brilliant free kick from 10 yards outside the box and which swung left and dipped into the net.Al Duhail hit back three minutes later with Luis Alberto slotting in a cross from Adil Boulbina. Umm Salal struck back (34th minute) with Cristo Perez striking on a second attempt after Tannane provided the cross after initiating a quick move off a throw in.Piatek scored in the 61st minute as he chested a Marco Verratti pass before putting the ball into the goal. Minutes later, Umm Salal’s Kouassi fouled Mobarak Shanan inside the box incurring a penalty. Piatek scored from the spot (65th minute).In the added time (90+9 minute), Mobarak was felled by Umm Salal’s Nasser Al Ahrak and a penalty was given following VAR check. Piatek stepped up and scored completing his hat-trick.Brahimi stars as Gharafa beat SailiyaAl Gharafa defeated Al Sailiya 2-0 at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium. The win took The Cheetahs’ tally to nine points, while Al Sailiya are yet to open their account.Al Gharafa’s Algerian star Yacine Brahimi was instrumental in both of his team’s goals, while Tunisian Ferjani Sassi scored one and assisted Brahimi in the other.The first half ended goalless, but Al Gharafa struck soon in the second (53rd minute), with Sassi making a fine header to a swinging corner kick of Brahimi from the right.Brahimi himself fetched the second goal in stoppage time (90+2 minute) as he weaved past defenders to strike from about five yards outside the box and past a diving goalkeeper into the left corner. Brahimi was named player of the match.

The Spanish coach Felix Sanchez of Al Sadd emphasized the significant importance of the upcoming match against Al Gharafa, scheduled for Thursday, in the marquee fixture of the third round of the Doha Bank Stars League.Speaking to the media ahead of their 2025-2026 season Doha Bank Stars League Week 3 match against Al Gharafa, Al Sadd coach Felix Sanchez said, "We expect a difficult match. Al Gharafa have started the season strongly, but we are confident of putting in a good performance on home turf and in front of our fans towards achieving a positive result."It's important for us to regain our balance after the first match. I think we performed well last week and showed improvement, and we want to continue building on that to compete at our best in front of our fans."It is important for us to win the last match before the FIFA international break. It's important to enter the break feeling positive. We certainly want to achieve another good result for the team."Al Gharafa coach Pedro Martins said, "Koeman's return to training will give the team greater options. The match will be exciting and difficult against the defending champions. We must focus defensively without compromising our style and identity. Calm and focus are our path to achieving our goals.""Your support makes the difference. We rely on you in difficult moments, and I trust your strong presence to support the players."