Al Duhail players celebrate during the match.
Doha, Qatar: Al Duhail regained their one-point lead over Al Sadd in the Ooredoo Stars League (OSL) after securing a 4-2 victory over Al Ahli at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium yesterday.
In a thrilling clash that saw momentum swing back and forth, Al Duhail initially took the lead through Lucas Verissimo’s 26th-minute goal.
However, Al Ahli responded with back-to-back strikes from Julian Draxler in the 38th and 42nd minutes putting them in front.
Al Duhail recovered in the 74th minute with Michael Olunga levelling the scores. Hakim Ziyech then put Al Duhail back in front with a brilliant free-kick eight minutes later. Benjamin Bourigeaud sealed the win for Al Duhail scoring in the second minute of stoppage time.
Duhail's Michael Olunga in action
With the win, Al Duhail moved to 41 points, reclaiming their top spot in the standings while defending champions Al Sadd remain in close pursuit with four matches remaining. Al Gharafa sit third with 37 points.
The match kicked off with Al Duhail asserting early pressure as Almoez Ali attempted an early shot that was blocked by Al Ahli’s Marwan Sherif.
The Al Ahli goalkeeper also denied Michael Olunga’s effort from a long ball, but Al Duhail capitalised on the resulting corner. After Almoez’s header was saved, Verissimo pounced on the rebound, tapping in from close range to give his team the lead.
Though Al Ahli had more possession, they struggled to create meaningful chances until Draxler’s equaliser. The German international calmly finished a cross from Eric Exposito, tapping it in from close range on the left to bring Al Ahli level.
Just four minutes later, Draxler struck again. This time, Al Duhail’s defenders De Silva, Verissimo and Ibrahim Kader failed to control a ball from a set-piece and Draxler was there to take advantage, scoring his second from nearly the same spot, giving Al Ahli a 2-1 lead.
Al Duhail responded with multiple attacks after the break and at the hour-mark, coach Christophe Galtier introduced Edmilson Junior for Luis Alberto. The Brazilian wasted no time, sending a shot just over the bar before providing the assist for Olunga’s header into the right corner to level the match.
The game took another twist when Al Ahli’s Bahaa Mamdouh Ellethy fouled Ziyech conceding a free kick. Ziyech confidently slotted the ball into the left corner from 10 yards out, giving Al Duhail the lead.
Bourigeaud wrapped up the victory with a well-placed shot from outside the box, capitalising on poor defending after Almoez’s initial shot was blocked by the goalkeeper.
Igor Biscan’s Al Ahli remain in fourth place with 29 points, with their lead over fifth-place Al Rayyan now reduced to just two points.
Elsewhere, Rodri’s goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time gave Al Arabi a 1-0 victory over 10-man Al Shamal at Al Thumama Stadium.
Al Arabi moved up to eighth place with 22 points, while Al Shamal, who had to play with 10 men after Mohammed Musa’s red card in the 48th minute, stayed in sixth place with 23 points.
At Stadium 974, Al Wakrah were held to a 1-1 draw by Qatar SC, with Ataa Jaber scoring the equaliser in the 88th minute. Al Wakrah took the lead through Aymen Hussein in 45+3 minutes.
Both teams are now level on 21 points with Al Wakrah taking the ninth spot on better goal difference.
