Alkass Digital
Al Rayyan returned to the top of Expo Stars League (ESL) standings after blanking 10-man Umm Salal 2-0 at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium. Also yesterday, Qatar SC grabbed their first victory of the season in their sixth match, mauling Al Ahli 4-2 after a brace by Raoul Sanda at Al Thumama Stadium.
Al Rayyan were in charge right from the start but they had to wait for a Thiago Mendes strike in 52nd minute to take lead in the match. Achraf Bencharki sealed victory with a goal in 74th minute.
Their fifth victory in six matches has put Al Rayyan on 15 points pushing Al Sadd to second place, who have 13 points from five matches.
Al Rayyan's Achraf Bencharki celebrates after scoring a goal against Umm Salal. Pic: Rajan Vadakkemuriyil
The Wolves, who will host Al Faisaly in their AFC Champions League tie tomorrow, are yet to play their sixth round match.
Al Rayyan, who were beaten by Al Wakrah in their previous match, remained dominant throughout the match enjoying almost 70 percent ball possession but they were unable to score in the first half.
After several attempts, they finally grabbed the lead through Mendes, who hit a low shot in the right corner from outside the box for the opener.
Al Rayyan could have scored their second goal in a 66th minute spot kick following a red card to Marouane Louadni, who elbowed forward Roger Guedes in front of the goal. But Umm Salal goalkeeper Landing Badji avoided the damage diving to his right to block Rodrigo Machado’s hit. Bencharki, however, made no mistake in connecting a fine cross by Qatari defender Bassam Alrawi completing the win from near the penalty spot.
“It was overall a good performance from the team particularly in the season half. It’s an important win but we must maintain our performance with Al Gharafa next against us in the league,” Al Rayyan coach Leonardo Jardim said after the win yesterday.
Qatar SC, who came to the match having suffered three defeats, looked a different side taking an early lead through Sanda, who raced to hit the opener after Al Ahli goalkeeper Yazan Naim Hussein gifted him a ball while trying to block a cross from Eisa Palangi in the fourth minute.
Bruno Tabata doubled the advantage for Qatar SC with a solo effort steering the ball from a distance to slot into the left corner from just inside the box in 16th minute. Ben Malango made it 3-0 for Qatar SC, two minutes before the hour-mark heading the ball off a superb delivery from Bashar Resan.
Former PSG player Julian Draxler, who came off the bench in the second half, led Al Ahli’s fightback with a quick double scoring goals in 62nd and 66th minute but a 90th minute strike by Sanda ended their hopes of a comeback in the match.
Al Ahli coach Pedro Miguel lamented mistakes in the match cost his team a defeat.
“We committed many mistakes in defence. We tried to fight back in the second half and managed to score two goals. We got chances to score our third goal also but we missed those opportunities. We must work on our mistakes to make a strong comeback in the competition,” Miguel said after the match.
The victory put Qatar SC eighth in the standings with five points while Al Ahli are placed 11th with only three points.