Al Sadd's Roberto Firmino (left) celebrates with teammate Rafa Mujica after scoring a goal against Al Rayyan yesterday.
DOHA: Defending champions Al Sadd bounced back in style in the Qatar Stars League (QSL) crushing Al Rayyan 5-1 in the Qatar Clasico at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium yesterday.
Joselu scored a second-half brace as Al Gharafa reclaimed the top spot in the standings with a 3-1 win over Al Duhail, who were reduced to 10 men after Marco Verratti was sent off in the 77th minute of a heated contest.
Needing points after a struggling start to the season, Al Sadd produced a dominant display, boosted by a brace from Roberto Firmino and a red card to Al Rayyan’s Gregore Favero in the 19th minute.
Al Rayyan were further reduced to 10 men after Abdulaziz Hatem received a second yellow card in the 90th minute.
The victory marked interim coach Sergio Allegri’s first win in charge, taking Al Sadd to 11 points in fifth place while Al Rayyan remained fourth with 13 points.
“We played with a specific tactic and managed to secure an important victory. We are happy for our fans, but it’s too early to say that Al Sadd is fully back,” Al Sadd’s Akram Afif said after the win.
“The league is tough, and we are working hard to come back stronger. We thank our fans for their support and, InshaAllah, we will make them happy with what’s ahead.”
Al Sadd took the lead early when Firmino scored from close range in the 11th minute. Afif was at the heart of the action as the Wolves dominated the early stages in front of their home fans. He won a free kick just outside the box after being fouled by goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada and struck the crossbar from the resulting indirect effort. The rebound fell to Pedro Miguel, who set up Firmino for a header from the centre of the box. Al Rayyan suffered another setback when Favero’s yellow card was upgraded to red in the 20th minute after a pitch-side monitor review for a foul on the goal-bound Afif.
Despite being a man down, Al Rayyan fought back and equalised in the 37th minute through a Roger Guedes penalty, awarded after Giovani Henrique handled the ball inside the box, a decision confirmed by VAR. Guedes calmly sent goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham the wrong way with a low shot into the bottom-left corner.
With 14 minutes of stoppage time added before the break, Al Sadd pressed hard and were rewarded in the 10th minute of added time. In a well-coordinated move, Rafa Mujica found Afif on the left side of the box, and the Qatari star squared the ball for Boualem Khouki, who slotted it into the left corner from close range.
Al Sadd came out strongly in the second half, with Afif extending the lead with a clinical strike from outside the box. The Qatari playmaker then set up Firmino for his second goal in the 55th minute, making it 4-1.
Three minutes later, Firmino had a goal disallowed from another Afif assist but later Mujica won a penalty and converted it in the 74th minute to make it 5-1. Al Sadd continued to attack, but Al Rayyan avoided further damage.
Al Gharafa regain top spot
Earlier, Joselu hit the side netting while Verratti went close from the edge of the box as both sides made a lively start at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium.
Seydou Sano gave Al Gharafa the lead in the 23rd minute with a looping header from Yacine Brahimi’s corner. However, Luis Alberto equalised just before the break, lifting the ball over goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar in the third minute of stoppage time after a clever through pass from Bassam Al Rawi.
Joselu restored Al Gharafa’s lead in the 55th minute with a header from another precise Brahimi corner. Adil Boulbina appeared to equalise for Al Duhail in the 77th minute, but the goal was ruled out for a foul in the build-up following a VAR review.
Al Gharafa's Seydou Sano (centre) celebrates with Joselu and Dame Traore (left).
Tensions flared soon after, with Verratti shown a red card for violent conduct following an exchange with Ahmed Al Ganehi, who received a yellow card. Joselu sealed the victory in the third minute of stoppage time, converting a penalty after being brought down by Karim Boudiaf inside the box. Al Gharafa moved to 19 points on top of the table, two ahead of Qatar SC, who play Al Wakrah today, while Al Duhail remained on 11 points in fifth place.
