Former Barcelona youngster scored three in the 5-0, thumping of Al Arabi in a week marked by close results elsewhere at the Ooredoo Stars League.

Al Sadd cruised past Al Arabi with an emphatic win on Thursday with Spanish forward Rafa Mujica netting three goals to help the defending champions maintain the check on table toppers, Al Duhail.

Al Sadd scored five at the Khalifa International Stadium with Mujica getting on the scoresheet as early as the eighth minute with a well-placed penalty.

The former Barcelona youth forward then doubled his tally in the 26th minute, following Al Sadd captain Akram Afif’s 19th-minute goal.

Taken aback by their opponent’s high-octane start, Al Arabi managed to get to the end of the first half with no further damage.

Brazilian forward Giovani’s effort at the hour mark made it four nil as Mujica’s third came with one minute left on the clock.

Following a surprising 2-1 opening-day loss against Al Shamal, Al Sadd have now convincingly won their two subsequent matches and sit third on the table, behind Al Duhail and Al Ahli.

Mujica has now scored five goals, including a brace against Qatar SC in the second game and is one goal clear of Al Shamal’s Baghdad Bounedjah.

Al Duhail maintain winning streak

Victor Lekhal’s own goal was enough for table-toppers Al Duhail to maintain their perfect record and beat Umm Salal on Thursday.

Lekhal’s unsuccessful clearance ended up in the back of Umm Salal’s net from Luis Alberto’s cross at the Khalifa Stadium four minutes into the second half.

Despite dominating on the pitch and frequently creating chances largely off new signing Alberto and longstanding creator Edmilson Junior’s playmaking abilities, Duhail were unable to add any more goals to the tally.

Captain Almoez Ali started as the lone forward for league leaders for the second match in a row as Michael Olunga was deemed not fit enough to start, yet again.

Christophe Galtier’s side will face Al Wakrah when the league resumes on September 13, before a difficult battle against Al Sadd on September 21.

Al Gharafa clinch first win of the season

Al Gharafa registered their first win of the season against Al Rayyan on Friday.

Pedro Martins’ side equalised through Florinel Coman’s goal in the 70th minute, five minutes after Roger Guedes had put Al Rayyan in front with a header.

Coman then added his second goal thirteen minutes later, arriving on time to score on a rebound inside the box.

His side now sit fifth on the table and will look to build on a win that came after disappointing displays in the opening two games of the season, including a loss against Al Ahli.

Al Ahli’s undefeated run continues

Al Ahli’s dream start to the new season continued on Friday with a 2-1 win over Al Khor at the Al Thumama Stadium.

Julian Draxler first scored for Al Ameed in the 68th minute with a finish at the bottom corner from outside the box.

Al Khor thought they had stolen a point from the fixture when Sofiane Hanni scored with five minutes left on the clock, only for Abdelrahman Moustafa to seal the fixture for Al Ahli in the 90th minute.

Promotion winners Al Khor now sit just above the relegation spot as Al Ahli maintain their streak at the second spot.

Al Wakrah and Qatar SC win with second-half goals

Al Wakrah finally had their first win of the Ooredoo Stars League season, courtesy of Ricardo Gomes’ strike against 10-men Al Shahania on Friday.

The Blue Waves were the better sides at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, yet were not incisive enough to trouble Shahania.

Despite registering 17 more shots than their opponents Al Wakrah hit only three on target, equal to their opponents’ tally.

Al Shahania’s Husam Kamal was sent off in the 38th minute by the VAR for a reckless challenge on Al Wakrah’s Ayoub Assal. Al Wakrah’s early goal in the 10th minute was also overturned.

Qatar SC, on the other hand, won 1-0 against Al Shamal despite struggling throughout the game, courtesy of Ahmed Abdel Kader’s goal just one minute into the second half.

The Ooredoo Stars League will return on September 13 after the international window as Qatar faces UAE at home and then travels to Vietnam to face North Korea for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Player of the Week: Rafa Mujica (Al Sadd)

Two classic strikers’ finish and a confident penalty: Rafa Mujica was Al Sadd’s difference maker and was by far the most impactful player of this week overall.

Goal of the Week: Abdelrahman Moustafa (Al Ahli)

Abdulrahman Moustafa’s finish from outside the box in the 90th minute was a wonderful goal in itself but it gets even better considering it gave Al Ahli their second win of the campaign.