The 5-1 loss against Al Duhail on Saturday was Al Sadd’s third loss of the current season in just five matches.
Defending Ooredoo Stars League champions Al Sadd suffered a 5-1 loss against Al Duhail – their worst league defeat ever – prompting a furious response from the fans present at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Fans were seen demanding head coach Felix Sanchez’s exit, chanting “Sanchez Out” as soon as the final whistle went off.
The Saturday loss against Al Duhail was Al Sadd’s third league defeat in five matches under Sanchez, equal to the losses they had suffered in the entire campaign last season.
The defending champions lost against Al Shamal 2-1 in the opening game of the season and succumbed 3-1 against Umm Salal in the fourth game prior to the drubbing on Saturday.
“The result was really disappointing,” a fan told Arabic sports outlet Winwin after the match. “I’m worried about Felix Sanchez, and to be honest, he couldn’t manage the game well, just like in the previous one.”
Completely outclassed in the first half, Al Sadd first conceded in the 13th minute, as Michael Olunga made up for a penalty he missed six minutes earlier.
Edmilson Junior then doubled the lead in the 28th minute and set up full-back Homam Ahmed five minutes later to make it 3-0.
It was the recently naturalised Qatari playmaker who put the game out of Al Sadd’s reach in the 40th minute with a sumptuous effort at the far post from a distance, beyond Meshaal Barsham’s reach.
A group of Al Sadd fans were seen leaving the stadium immediately after Edmilson’s strike, unhappy with the team’s performance, although captain Hassan Al-Haydos pulled one back in the first half’s extra time.
“The performance was poor. Al-Sadd fans were hesitant about signing him [Sanchez]. We did not want to bring him in,” the fan added.
“To come out and lose 5-1 like that in front of the world is embarrassing, especially now that we have a match against Iran’s Esteghlal in a few days.”
Expectations on Sanchez was to elevate Al Sadd’s performance not only domestically but in the AFC Champions League Elite, after familiarising himself in Qatar for 16 years.
The 48-year-old Spaniard landed in Qatar in 2006 and coached in the Aspire Academy and Qatar’s youth side, winning the AFC U-19 championship in 2014.
Sanchez then took charge of the national team in 2017 and led Al Annabi to their maiden Asian Cup triumph in 2019.
He also managed the team during the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar, where they exited in the group stages after a disappointing performance, scoring just one goal in three matches.
Sanchez was appointed Al Sadd’s manager in July after a stint with the Ecuadorian national team, where he lead them to the quarter-finals of Copa America 2024.
