WATCH: QNB Stars League - Week 13 highlights
League-leaders Al Sadd continued their impressive form in the ongoing 2020-21 QNB Stars League with a massive 8-0 rout of Al Sailiya in their Week 13 fixture on Friday to extend their lead on the 12-team tournament to 35 points.
Algerian spearhead Baghdad Bounedjah led the rout with four goals. Nam Tae-Hee (double), Ali Asad and Santiago Cazorla also contributed to Al Sadd’s big victory.
In all, a total of 26 goals were scored over six matches, all of which ended in victories, in the matches held on Thursday and Friday (January 7 and 8, 2021).
Following suit, reigning champions Al Duhail too made it big by recording an 8-1 win over Al Wakrah.
Paulo Edmilson Junior (four goals), Eduardo Rodriguez (Dudu) (three goals) and Almoez Ali were on target for The Red Knights, who moved on to 27 points and stood in second place with their ninth victory.
In the other fixture, Al Rayyan defeated Al Gharafa 2-1 in a match involving two powerhouses and traditionally big clubs in Qatar football.
Abdulaziz Hatem scored both goals for Al Rayyan, while Jonathan Kodjia was on target for Al Gharafa.
Al Arabi 1 vs Al Ahli 0
Date: Sunday, January 8, 2021
Venue: Al Arabi Stadium
Al Arabi continued their excellent form by defeating Al Ahli 1-0 at the Al Arabi Stadium on Friday.
Mohammed Salah El Neel netted the winner in the 20th minute as Al Arabi, coached by Heimir Hallgrimsson, registered their fourth successive victory, having beaten Al Kharaitiyat 3-1, Al Sailiya 1-0 and Al Khor 3-0 in Week 10, 11 and 12 respectively.
The Dream Team moved on to 18 points with their fifth victory overall.
Al Arabi thus extended their brilliant run starting from their good performance at the 2019-20 season Amir Cup final, which they narrowly lost to Al Sadd.
Nebojsa Jovovic-coached Al Ahli, who had beaten Al Wakrah 2-0 in Week 12, slipped from fourth to fifth position in the QNB Stars League standings as they stood on 22 points following their fifth loss.
The Brigadiers, who led the table initially this season, have their task cut out in their bid to end up among the top four.
Al Khor 0 vs Umm Salal 1
Date: Friday, January 8, 2021
Venue: Al Duhail Stadium
Umm Salal defeated Al Khor 1-0 at the Al Duhail Stadium on Friday.
Kayke Rodriguez scored the all-important goal by converting a penalty in the 14th minute.
Umm Salal scripted their third victory and are on 13 points. The Orange Fortress are thus back on the winning path after suffering their first defeat in five games when they lost 0-1 to holders Al Duhail in Week 12.
Al Khor, who lost 0-3 to Al Arabi in Week 12, are now precariously placed in the 11th position, staring very much at relegation, with seven points, just one point more than bottom-placed Al Kharaitiyat, who had lost 1-3 to Qatar SC on Thursday.
It was The Knights’ eighth defeat.
Referee Abdulrahman Al Jassim awarded the penalty after Umm Salal’s Ahmed Hammoudan was fouled by Al Khor defender Elnagi Elsadiq and prolific scorer Kayke, who switched from Qatar SC to Umm Salal recently, was bang on target from the spot.
Al Duhail 8 vs Al Wakrah 1
Date: Friday, January 8, 2021
Venue: Al Duhail Stadium
Reigning champions Al Duhail defeated Al Wakrah 8-1 at the Al Duhail Stadium on Friday.
Paulo Edmilson Junior (second, 10th, 16th and 19th minutes), Eduardo Rodriguez (Dudu) in the third, ninth and 71st-minute penalty) and Almoez Ali (70th minute) scored the goals as The Red Knights moved on to 27 points (nine wins and four defeats) with their ninth victory.
Mohamed Benyettou scored the only goal for Al Wakrah in the 45+1 minute as The Blue Wave remained on 13 points after suffering their eighth defeat.
Al Duhail are very much on the recovery path following a slump in form that saw them occupy a place outside the top four. The Red Knights have now won their last five matches, but they are still eight points adrift of leaders Al Sadd, who blanked Al Kharaitiyat 8-0 on Thursday.
In hindsight, individual brilliance of Edmilson and Dudu put Al Duhail in the driver’s seat as they stayed on course to retain the coveted league shield, afterb suffering initial hiccups.
Al Duhail reaped the rewards of having begun the game in excellent fashion. Sabri Lamouchi’s men were up by four goals inside 10 minutes and they built on the brilliant start to script a big-margin victory.
Al Duhail dominated their rivals right throughout and Benyettou’s goal was the only reply they could give to their marauding opponents.
It may be recalled that Al Wakrah had beaten Al Duhail 1-0 in the first leg of 2020-21 season QNB Stars League.
Al Rayyan 2 vs Al Gharafa 1
Date: Thursday, January 7, 2021
Venue: Al Sadd Stadium
Al Rayyan defeated Al Gharafa 2-1 at the Al Sadd Stadium on Thursday.
Abdulaziz Hatem (fourth and 45+3 minutes) scored for Al Rayyan, who could thus put behind the setback of having lost to Al Sailiya in the previous week.
Jonathan Kodjia scored Al Gharafa’s goal off a penalty in the 42nd minute.
Al Rayyan went on to 19 points with their fifth victory, while Al Gharafa stood on 23 points.
The encounter between the two powerhouses as well as traditionally big clubs in Qatar football lived up to expectations.
Action evoked keen interest right from the start.
Al Rayyan surprised the opponents by taking an early lead as Abdulaziz Hatem beat Al Gharafa goalkeeper Yousef Hassan with the pace of his long shot after being set up by team-mate Yacine Brahimi off a counter-attack.
Al Gharafa responded through Muad Hassan’s shot that was saved by Al Rayyan goalkeeper Fahad Younis.
Al Gharafa equalized through Kodjia after Al Rayyan’s Ahmed Abdelmaqsoud fouled Koo Ja-Cheol and referee Saoud Ali Al Athba awarded a penalty.
Soon, Al Rayyan earned a penalty when the Al Gharafa goalkeeper brought down Yohan Boli. However, the resultant kick taken by Boli himself was stopped by Yousef, who dived to his right.
Al Gharafa had slightly more of possession, but Al Rayyan went into the half-time with a 2-1 cushion, with Abdulaziz Hatem finding the target a second time off a minus pass from the goalline by Naif Al Hadhrami.
The action slowed a bit in the second half even though both teams kept creating opportunities.
Kodjia made waves in the 73rd minute with a shot that followed his solo run into the rival box along the right, but the Al Rayyan goalkeeper was on hand to thwart him.
Al Rayyan had beaten Al Gharafa 3-1 in the first leg of 2020-21 season QNB Stars League.
Al Sadd 8 vs Al Sailiya 0
Date: Thursday, January 7, 2021
Venue: Al Sadd Stadium
Al Sadd beat Al Sailiya 8-0 at the Al Sadd Stadium on Thursday.
Baghdad Bounedjah’s four goals did the trick for Al Sadd (23rd, 80th, 86th and 89th minutes). Nam Tae-Hee (36th and 54th minutes), Ali Asad (50th minute) and Santiago Cazorla (61st minute) also scored for Al Sadd, who kept their unbeaten run at the top of the table with 35 points following their 11th victory.
Al Sailiya remained on 15 points after suffering their sixth defeat.
In the 17th minute, Al Sadd’s Nam, after a short tap from Bounedjah, fired a top shot that narrowly sailed past the left Al Sailiya goalpost. However, Al Sadd soon opened the scoring after a keeper’s fumble.
Ali Asad charged into the Al Sailiya box and quickly slipped in a low show – between the legs of Mostafa Hamid - to the right of keeper Amine who reached the ball with relative eased but fumbled with his collection and lost control. The loose ball popped and landed near ever-alert Bounedjah who wasted no time and fired a right-footed shot into the net from close range.
In the 34th minute, Cazorla found good pace and angle on his powerful shot from the edge of the box, but Al Sailiya keeper Amine did well to parry the ball. Amine, however, could do little when Al Sadd strike force combined well to find the net in the 36th minute.
Bounedjah, after receiving a cross while being stationed on the edge of the Al Sailiya box, found Nam with a neat short cross. The Korean arrived with slick pace to deflect the ball with his left foot from close range with only keeper Amine to beat.
Al Sadd carried their momentum into the second half when Ali Asad showed little slackness to score the third goal for the Amir Cup champions. Bounedjah headed the ball off a corner kick, but the deflection hit the Al Sailiya crossbar. The ball bounced back into play and Ali Asad slipped in a shot from close range in the 50th minute.
Bounedjah, showing great form, assisted once again for the fourth goal by picking out Nam inside the box. The Korean drilled the ball into the net from close range. Shortly, Al Sadd jumped to a 5-0 cushion when Cazorla expertly deflected a left-footed shot to the right of goalkeeper.
In the 65th minute, Hassan Al Haydous also found the net for Al Sadd, but his effort was declared off-side. Bounedjah fired a shot from the edge of the box to the left of keeper Amin for his second of the match.
Bounedjah deflected a cross into the net to complete his hat-trick and Al Sadd’s seventh goal, and then drilled one more past the keeper for his fourth of the evening.
Qatar SC 3 vs Al Kharaitiyat 1
Date: Thursday, January 7, 2021
Venue: Qatar SC Stadium
Qatar SC beat Al Kharaitiyat 3-1 at the Qatar SC Stadium on Thursday.
An own goal by Al Kharaitiyat’s Mohammed Salam (38th minute), a superb strike by Youcef Belaili (51st minute) and a neat effort by Hamed Ismail (63rd minute) sealed Qatar SC’s fighting 3-1 win.
Evans Mensah (88th minute) reduced the deficit for Al Kharaitiyat, who played under new coach Wesam Rizik for the first time this season.
Qatar SC now have 23 points, whereas Al Kharaitiyat stood on six points.
The Week 14 matches will be played on Tuesday, January 12, and Wednesday, January 13, with three games on each day.
The fixtures are Al Rayyan vs Qatar SC (16:15, Al Sadd Stadium), Al Sadd vs Al Duhail (18:45, Al Sadd Stadium), Al Sailiya vs Al Kharaitiyat (18:45, Al Ahli Stadium) on Tuesday, Umm Salal vs Al Wakrah (16:15, Qatar SC Stadium), Al Gharafa vs Al Arabi (18:45, Qatar SC Stadium) and Al Ahli vs Al Khor (18:45, Al Ahli Stadium) on Wednesday.
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