Al Duhail’s dominance, Al Ahli’s spirited run, and Al Rayyan’s misery continued on Week 10 of the Qatari league.

If anyone had doubted Al Duhail’s 5-1 win against Al Sadd in September, then Saturday’s 5-0 win over Al Arabi was a testament that the win over the defending champions two months ago was anything but a fluke.

Albeit against a struggling Al Arabi side that currently sits tenth in the table just shy of relegation, Al Duhail were as convincing as they could get to establish themselves at the top of the Ooredoo Stars League’s table.

After all, Christophe Galtier’s side has been the best Qatari side this season – securing 25 points in 10 games with just one draw and one loss, while also boasting the healthiest goal difference.

It did not take the table toppers much long to assert their dominance over Al Arabi at the Al Thumama Stadium, with Homam Ahmed netting in a brace within the first 15 minutes.

If that was not enough, Lucas Verissimo’s goal came between Ahmed’s brace in the ninth minute – a strike emblematic of the collective brilliance that Al Duhail has possessed so far in the season.

And soon, it was 4-0 going into the break with French midfielder Benjamin Bourigeaud netting his first league goal for the club he joined earlier this summer.

The only goal in the second period came 20 minutes into the half, as Luis Alberto fired one at the far post to complete the five. Al Arabi’s miserable evening ended with their striker Yousef Msakni getting sent off with just a few minutes left on the clock.

While the table topper’s attacking mettle, bolstered by the addition of playmaker Alberto to the already successful duo of Almoez Ali and Michael Olunga, has been incisive, their defensive rigidity cannot be ignored.

Galtier’s men have only conceded seven times in the season so far, holding the league’s best record.

Al Sadd come from behind to keep up with Al Ahli

Al Sadd survived an early scare from Al Khor to register a 5-2 win over the newly promoted Al Khor side, keeping up with Al Ahli for second place in the Ooredoo Stars League table.

At the Al Khor Stadium, Al Sadd were blown away in the initial minutes as Ruben Semedo and Sofiane Hanni scored in the third and the eighth minute respectively to hand the hosts a two-goal lead.

Central defender Ahmed Suhail reduced the deficit to a goal just two minutes after Hanni’s goal, and his defensive partner Romain Saiss — who made his league debut for the defending champions — levelled the score in the 27th minute with a header.

With the score tied at half-time, the match needed a game-changer, and as always, it was Akram Afif who rose up to the occasion.

The two-time AFC Player of the Year winner completed his brace within nine minutes in the second half to put the game out of Al Khor’s reach, before new signing Cristo Gonzalez hit the target in the 68th minute to settle the score at 5-2.

Following a rather slow start to the campaign, Al Sadd have now won five games in a row in the domestic league and are yet to suffer a defeat at the AFC Champions League Elite.

Al Ahli, meanwhile, beat Umm Salal 3-0 on Saturday to continue their strong start to the season that has seen them lose just one game in the league so far.

As clinical as a side could get, Al Ahli’s three goals came from just five shots on goal, only two of which were on target.

Sounds odd? Not so much. In-form Julian Draxler’s freekick was turned into his own net by Umm Salal’s Antonio Mance in the 10th minute – which technically, was not a shot on target.

Then, the two actual shots on target came in the 29th and 36th minute as Erik Exposito scored his fourth of the campaign, followed by Ivorian midfielder Idrissa Doumbia’s strike.

The win puts Al Ahli at 21 points, level with second-placed Al Sadd, who keep the spot due to a superior goal difference.

Al Shamal and Al Shahania pull off stunning wins

Al Shamal’s rollercoaster ride continued with a climb this weekend as they stunned Al Rayyan 2-1 at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Friday.

Mohammed Khaled Al-Naumi’s 83rd-minute goal neutralised Roger Guedes’ strike that had come in the added minutes of the first half, setting the stage for an injury-time winner for Younes Belhanda.

Belhanda scored in the seventh minute of added time to hand Al Rayyan their sixth defeat of the campaign, assisted by the league’s topscorer Baghdad Bounedjah.

In a campaign that had started with a 2-1 win over defending champions Al Sadd, Al Shamal came into the tie having lost two games back-to-back and now sit sixth in the table.

Another stunning win unfolded at the Suheim bin Hamad Stadium on Saturday as Al Shahania — the only side to beat Al Duhail this season so far — beat Qatar SC 3-1.

Qatar SC seemed to be walking away with a point after veteran striker Sebastian Soria equalised in the 70th minute coming off the bench, but Pelle van Amersfoort, who had scored in the 22nd minute of the game, had other plans.

The Dutch attacker scored in the third minute of injury time to restore the lead, before Lotfi Madjer scored in the tenth minute to seal the tie.

The win puts Al Shahania, who won promotion to the top flight after a play-off win, in the seventh spot, whereas Qatar SC sit eleventh in the relegation play-off spot with 10 points.

Al Gharafa get confidence boost with Al Wakrah win

In the clash of sides which have had a turbulent campaign so far, Al Gharafa came out with a convincing 3-1 win over Al Wakrah at the Thani bin Jassim Stadium on Friday.

The Panthers trailed as Ricardo Gomes converted a penalty in the 20th minute to give the visitors an early lead, which was neutralised by Ahmed Al-Ganehi at the stroke of half-time.

It then took a Yacine Brahimi-Joselu combination for Al Gharafa to take the lead at the hour mark, before Qatar national team defender Lucas Mendes conceded an own goal with fifteen minutes left on the clock.

Despite registering three times the number of shots that Al Gharafa had managed, Khalifa Ababacar’s stellar performance in front of the goal denied Al Wakrah the chance to get back in the game.

The win puts Al Gharafa in fourth place in the Ooredoo Stars League table, four points clear of fifth-placed Al Wakrah.