Al Sadd's Baghdad Bounedjah celebrates his goal against Al Duhail, yesterday.
Doha: Feared striker Baghdad Bounedjah struck a brace as Al Sadd retained the Qatar Cup title with a 2-0 victory over Al Duhail in the final at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium.
Yesterday’s triumph brought second trophy in the tournament for Al Sadd after it was relaunched under its present name in 2014.
It was also 74th overall title for the Wolves, who lived up to their favourites tag against The Red Knights in front of socially-distanced fans.
Bounedjah, who also scored a brace in 2-1 win over Al Arabi in the Amir Cup final last December, opened his account with a stunning bicycle kick in 9th minute yesterday, before netting his second goal in 77th minute to inspire the Xavi Hernandez-coached side to the first trophy of the ongoing season.
Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) President H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani handed over the trophy to Xavi and captain Hasan Al Haydos.
“I am very happy with the team’s performance. We played a great game and the performance was more than excellent. We played with passion and spirit throughout the match and we deserved this win,” a delighted Xavi said after the triumph.
“We defeated a strong and competitive opponent. We suffered in the second half and this is normal in finals. I want to congratulate all the players, and the staff. We want to win more titles. This was a deserved win and another title for Al Sadd, and we proved that we are the best in Qatar,” he added.
The final was expected to produce a pulsating display from both the sides but intensity of a big final was missing last evening.
Yet, Al Sadd, as expected dominated Al Duhail, who were far from their best.
After an ordinary display in the first session, the Red Knights came as a better side in the second half but missed many chances to let Al Sadd walk away with a win. Al Sadd took the lead after a slow start to the final when Nam Tae-hee’s attempt from a danger area took a rebound from defender reaching Bounedjah, who struck the ball past Al Duhail goalkeeper Salah Zakaria with a first time overhead kick.
Al Duhail created some attacks after Al Sadd’s opening goal but they missed execution.
Ten minutes before half-time referee Khamis Al Marri, after consulting VAR, reversed his decision of awarding a penalty to Al Sadd with video replay showing Mohamed Musa Ali did not make any contact with Bounedjah, storming inside the box.
Al Sadd went into the tunnel with a lead, but Al Duhail returned as a better side after introduction of Michael Olunga – replacing Karim Boudiaf and Ismail Mohamad – coming in for Ali Malolah.
The Red Knights created chances but again goal was eluding them because of lack of execution.
With clock reaching an hour-mark, Olunga missed a golden opportunity after a receiving a brilliant cross from captain Almoez Ali, but his shot from near the penalty area was too high. There were more attempts to score by the Kenyan striker and Paulo Dasilve Edmilson, in moves mostly led by Almoez.
Instead Al Sadd got their second goal, after Xavi called back Alhaydos with Yusuf Abdurisag Yusuf coming off the bench in the 72nd minute.
Cazorla gave a perfect through pass to Bounedjah and after a short run, the Algerian pounced the ball over Zakaria to seal victory for Al Sadd.
Al Duhail’s disappointing final ended with a red card to Sultan Hussain Al Brake, who was punished for bringing down Al Sadd’s Yusuf Abdurisag in frustration.
Treble-seeking Al Sadd, are expected to seal their second crown of the ongoing season when they meet Umm Salal on March 7, as they are just one victory away from winning the QNB Stars League.
