Al Duhail's Michael Olunga in action.
Doha: Reigning champions Al Sadd yesterday kicked off their title defence at the QNB Stars League (QSL) with a commanding 2-0 victory over Al Sailiya at Al Gharafa Stadium.
Boualem Khoukhi opened the scoring in 23rd minute with experienced Rodrigo Tabata doubling the lead 10 minutes later as Al Sadd put up an aggressive display in the first half.
The Wolves, who stayed unbeaten throughout the last season, controlled the match well to defy Al Sailiya in the second half to bag full points in the opening game, leaving coach Xavi Hernandez delighted.
“I am happy with the first 3 points in the league. We played the first 40 minutes in an excellent way and controlled the match completely,” Xavi said after the match last night.
“We did not face much difficulty in the match and came out with a clean sheet. I hope that there are no injuries among the players. We now have to focus in the next stage,” he added.
Meanwhile, Al Duhail also got off to a winning start after they rallied from a goal down to beat Al Khor at their home turf in their first match of the new season.
Striker Michael Olunga (34th and 68th-min penalty minute), Ismail Mohammed (50th minute) and Khaled Mohammed (89th minute) scored goals for The Red Knights after Rafael Vaz had put the hosts ahead in the fourth minute.
Al Duhail, underlining their determination to make it big this season after failing to clinch a single silverware last time around, dominated possession, with their spearhead Olunga getting good support from Edmilson Junior along the left flank and Ismail Mohammed along the right.
Earlier at Al Gharafa Stadium, a goal from Gabonese striker Aaron Boupendza handed Al Arabi a 1-0 win over Al Wakrah in the closely contested match.
With both teams adopting defensive strategy, the decisive goal came in 71st after Boupendza fired a left-footed drive from the edge of the box that hit the crossbar and crashed into the Al Wakrah goal.
