Al Sadd's Baghdad Bounedjah celebrates with captain Hassan Al Haydos after completing a hat-trick against Al Duhail in yesterday's match.
Algerian goal machine Baghdad Bounedjah enjoyed yet another hat-trick in this season's QNB Stars League as Al Sadd sealed a dominant 3-1 win against Al Duhail at home yesterday.
Captain Almoez Ali put Al Duhail ahead with a penalty kick as early as 6th minute, but thereafter it was the hosts that prevailed.
Bounedjah scored in the 14th, 50th and 87th minutes as Xavi Hernandez's men clinched their 12th win of the season to go 11 points clear at the top of the QSL standings.
Dubbed as the match of the week, the high-octane clash pitted the top two teams of the QSL standings together in front of a decent crowd at the Al Sadd Stadium.
Al Duhail took the lead thanks to a penalty awarded after Abdelkarim Hassan brought down Almoez inside the box. The Qatari international, the 2019 AFC Asian Cup hero for Al Annabi, converted the penalty to give the visitors a 1-0 lead inside six minutes.
Bounedjah did not take long to level the scores. In the 14th minute dribbled past Ismaeel Mohammad before scoring with a great low finish.
The Wolves went on to put more pressure on Duhail as they searched for a second goal to make their dominance count. In the 34th minute, Santi Cazorla sent a powerful shot at goal from outside the box but the ball bounced back off the woodwork. Moments later, Cazorla threaded a through pass into the box aimed at Mohammed Waad, but the youngster’s shot was kept out by Salah Zakaria for a corner.
The referee then signalled for halftime, and the teams went into the tunnel with the score at 1-1 but things would change after the restart.
The match then saw the return of Asian Player of the Year Akram Afif, who was suffering from COVID-19. Xavi sent in Afif as his first substitute, in place of Hashim Ali and then in the 50th minute, Al Sadd scored their second goal to take the lead. Santi Cazorla floated in a corner kick and the Duhail backline failed to clear the ball properly, leaving Bounedjah with an opportunity to finish from close range and he made no mistake.
Substitute Salem Al Hajri played a role in Al Sadd's third goal when he started a quick move in the 87th minute, passing the ball to fellow Afif, who delivered a perfect pass for Bounedjah as the Algerian completed his hat-trick to take the game completely away from Al Duhail.
Barca great Xavi was elated with yesterday's win and hailed the efforts of his players.
"We played an amazing game and I am proud of the performance of all the players. It was a very good performance and we managed to come back after score thrice after conceding a goal,” Xavi said after the match.
“The performance was great and the team’s positive and collective spirit was the basis for this important win in our campaign for the league title.”
“We were the better side. We changed the dynamics of Qatari football and we have always been the best,” Xavi said after Al Sadd managed to remain the only unbeaten side.
Meanwhile, Al Sailiya clinched their fifth win of the season by defeating Al Kharaitiyat 2-0 in their Week 14 match at the Al Ahli Stadium.
Abdulqadir Ilyas (27) and Mohanad Ali (51) scored the goals as Al Sailiya raised their score to 18 points.
Al Kharaitiyat remained on six points following their 12th defeat, the worst record by any side in the 12-team tournament.
