Al Duhail's Almoez Ali celebrates after scoring a goal.
Doha, Qatar: Almoez Ali scored twice and missed a penalty as Al Duhail defeated spirited Lusail 3-1 in the Qatar Stars League at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium yesterday.
The victory took Al Duhail level with second-placed Al Sadd on 15 points, with Al Rayyan leading the standings on 17.
Al Arabi slipped to fourth after Al Wakrah produced a stunning late fightback in the other match yesterday. The Blue Wave overturned a two-goal deficit in the second half, with Gelson Dala scoring a late winner in a 3-2 victory.
Al Duhail started in dominant fashion but were repeatedly denied by Lusail goalkeeper Arsha Shakour, who made a string of impressive saves.
He first produced an acrobatic stop to deny Krzysztof Piatek before keeping out Sekou Yansane’s effort in a one-on-one situation. Shakour also stopped attempts from Sultan Al Brake and Soumare.
Almoez finally broke the deadlock in the 40th minute, firing a shot from outside the box into the left corner beyond the goalkeeper’s reach.
Lusail looked for a response after the restart through Naif Al Hadrami, while Shakour once again denied Piatek at the other end.
Al Duhail had a golden opportunity to double their lead in the 75th minute after Mubarak Shanan was fouled by Mohammed Aiash inside the box.
However, Almoez missed from the penalty spot, sending his effort wide of the right post.
Al Wakrah's Gelson Dala (top) scores the winning goal.
Lusail made him pay as Rodrigo restored parity with a minute of normal time remaining, slotting home from near the penalty spot.
Al Duhail, however, responded in stoppage time, with Soumare restoring their lead in the fourth minute by connecting with Yansane’s delivery.
As Lusail pushed forward in search of another equaliser, Almoez sealed the victory in the 11th minute of stoppage time, steering the ball past the goalkeeper to complete his brace.
Al Wakrah’s late fightback
At Khalifa International Stadium, Al Wakrah staged a remarkable comeback to beat Al Arabi after trailing by two goals at half-time.
Michael Olunga opened the scoring for Al Arabi in the 38th minute, heading home a close-range finish from Oussama Tannane’s lobbed cross.
The Kenyan striker doubled the lead seven minutes later, tapping in a low delivery from Isaac Lihadji. The goal was initially reviewed by VAR before being allowed to stand.
Al Arabi dominated the first half, but the second belonged to Al Wakrah.
Nasser Al Yazidi pulled one back in the 69th minute, rising high to meet Amine Zouhzouh’s corner.
After Al Arabi goalkeeper Jasem Al Hail saved Lucas Mendes’ free-kick, Zouhzouh levelled the scores in the 83rd minute, volleying home Murad Naji’s delivery into the left corner.
Having fought back from two goals down, Al Wakrah pressed for a winner and Dala delivered, making a run from around 20 yards out before driving into the box and beating the goalkeeper.
The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but a VAR review confirmed Dala was onside.
Al Wakrah moved to fifth place with 11 points, while Al Arabi remained on 12 points.
