Defending champions Al Sailiya suffered an embarrassing 4-0 loss to Al Sadd in the opening game of the Ooredoo Cup.
Fans at Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium witnessed a scoreless first half but bounced onto both feet in the second half as Al Sadd’s Hassan Ahmed netted the team’s first goal in the 58th minute.
Spanish legend Santi Cazorla doubled the lead, scoring in a free kick in the 75th minute.
However, Al Sadd continued with last-minute goals nailed in by Faisal Azadi and 41-year-old Rodrigo Tabata, who proved age is just a number as he sealed the game with a goal of his own.
All eyes are now on Al Sailiya’s manager, Sami Trabelsi, who is expected to coach his team into better form after a disappointing record in this year’s QNB Stars League competition.
The Tunisian manager will aim to bounce back in this week’s match as Al Sailiya gears up to face Al Ahli, who were also defeated 1-2 by Umm Salal.
A juvenile mistake gave Al Ahli their lone point in the match as Umm Salal’s Yousef Omar put in an own goal in the 38th minute.
Luckily for Umm Salal, Nasser Al Nasr and Ilyes Brimi gave the team the advantage they needed to secure the points on the leaderboard.
This was the second face-off for both teams as Al Ahli beat Umm Salal 1-0 in week one of the 2022-2023 QNB Stars League.
Qatar SC displayed an unusual performance to upset Al Wakrah 3-1.
The Blue Waves loss came shockingly as they remained unbeaten in the first seven rounds of the QNB Stars League.
In Group B, Al Duhail rimmed Al Markhiya 8-3, while Al Gharafa booked a win against Al Rayyan.
Al Arabi edged Al Shamal 1-0, hooking in 3 points on the leaderboards.
QNB Stars League schedule released
The league announced last week that the QNB Stars League will resume two days after the World Cup ends, with kick off expected on 22 December.
Al Duhail will take on Al Gharafa in the first match of Week 8, while Al Arabi will face Al Ahli on the same day.
Umm Salal and Al Markhiya will also compete on the same day, bringing local games back to the scene.
The 9th round will be the last of the matches and will begin on the 29December.
