Al Sadd and Al Rayyan continue to struggle with their performance as Al Duhail and Al Ahli maintained their top spots in this week’s Ooredoo Stars League matches.
It is the end of match day five and last season’s champions and runners-up, Al Sadd and Al Rayyan, find themselves struggling in the Ooredoo Stars League, sitting in seventh and eighth place respectively.
Both teams continued their dismal starts to the season as Al Sadd went down 5-1 to table toppers Al Duheil on Saturday and Al Rayyan suffered a 2-0 defeat against familiar foes Al Wakrah.
The defeats over the weekend had commonalities: Al Rayyan and Al Sadd were outclassed despite being the most active clubs in the transfer window, and both sets of fans demanded the sacking of their respective coaches after the matches.
However, Al Sadd’s undoing was more humiliating, as expressed by their own fans on Saturday.
Michael Olunga’s goal in the 13th minute opened the floodgates for Al Duheil, with Edmilson Junior doubling the lead fifteen minutes later.
Enjoying the momentum, Edmilson then set up Homam Ahmed through with a strike in the 33rd minute, before taking matters into his own hands to make it 4-0 with a brilliant finish just seven minutes later.
Hassan Al-Haydos pulled one back for Al Sadd in the added time of the first half but Almoez Ali’s goal in the 56th minute cemented Al Duheil’s routing.
The score read 5-1 at full-time, handing Al Sadd their heaviest league defeat ever. Those who had not left the Khalifa International Stadium earlier chanted “Sanchez Out” demanding coach Felix Sanchez’s departure.
Al Rayyan‘s ongoing struggles
The other group of fans chanting against their club’s coach were the Rayyanis, following the loss against Al Wakrah at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Saturday.
Al Rayyan had shown attacking promise in their 3-1 loss against Saudi’s Al Hilal in the AFC Champions League Elite match last week but the lack of clinical finishing in the final third came back to hurt Poya Asbaghi’s side.
Despite having fewer shots on target than Al Rayyan, Al Wakrah scored two goals in the first half.
Gelson Dala opened the scoring in the eighth minute and Ricardo Gomes doubled the tally in the 36th to secure a win for new coach Ali Rahma Al-Marri’s first game in charge.
Al Rayyan’s two wins this season have come against minnows Umm Salal and Al Shahania – representing their only points so far.
Al Ahli continue unbeaten run
An equaliser in stoppage time from Al Arabi’s Youssef Msakni denied Al Ahli their fourth win of the season, but there were plenty of positives to take from the match at Al Thumama Stadium for Igor Biscan’s team.
Both side’s first goals came via penalties – Sekou Yansane scored from the spot in the ninth minute and Ahmed Alaa’s 39th-minute strike, after a lengthy VAR check, made it level.
It was Alaa’s strike twenty minutes into the second half that gave Al Arabi the lead, making them dream of attaining their first win of the season.
It was however not to be, courtesy of in-form attacker Julian Draxler. The German first scored to equalise in the 76th minute and Al Ahli thought they had come back to win when he doubled his tally in the 90th minute.
However, Tunisian forward Msakni scored from close range in the sixth minute of injury time to spoil Al Ahli’s party and secure his side’s fourth draw in five matches.
Joselu scores in Al Gharafa’s win
Meanwhile, Spanish forward Joselu scored his first goal in the Ooredoo Stars League as Al Gharafa beat Qatar SC 3-1 on Sunday.
Before the Spaniard’s goal in the 72nd minute, Al Gharafa were 2-1 up with Ahmed Al-Ganehi hitting the target in the tenth minute and Yacine Brahimi doubling the lead from a penalty kick at the half-hour mark.
Qatar SC’s Sebastian Soria pulled one back for the home side at Khalifa International Stadium in the 42nd minute, scoring his first goal of the season.
Following the loss, Qatar SC now sit 11th on the league table with just three points from five matches.
Al Shamal and Umm Salal secure vital wins
Al Shamal beat Al Khor 2-1 as Baghdad Bounedjah scored his fifth goal of the ongoing campaign on Saturday.
The Algerian forward opened Al Shamal’s scoring at the Al Bayt Stadium in the 18th minute with a trademark striker’s finish.
Sofiane Hanni’s 28th-minute goal from the penalty spot kept the tie on balance until Mohamed Rafik Omar eventually scored the winner in the 78th minute after Al Shamal kept on with their attack.
At the Al Janoub Stadium on Saturday, Umm Salal secured their third win of the season beating Al Shahania 4-2, courtesy of Antonio Mance’s brace and second-half goals from Victor Lekhal and Oussama Tannane.
Despite leading 2-1 going into the half time with Alhassan Koroma’s 18th-minute strike and Pelle van Amersfoort’s penalty in the stoppage time, Al Shahania conceded three in the second half to drop to the bottom of the table.
Player of the Week: Edmilson Junior (Al Duhail)
Former Al Duhail coach Hernan Crespo once called Edmilson Junior the club’s own Lionel Messi. His performance against Al Sadd on the weekend was a testament to the compliment as he scored two and assisted Homam Ahmed to make it 4-0 inside the first 40 minutes.
Goal of the Week: Edmilson Junior (Al Duhail)
The 30-year-old playmaker’s strike to make it 4-0 takes the cake this week. Starting the run from the left, Edmilson drifted in, slightly opened his body and then curled the ball at the far post beyond Meshaal Barsham’s reach. Exquisite.
