Al Sadd's Abdelkarim Hassan celebrates after scoring a goal against Al Rayyan yesterday.
Doha: QNB Stars League champions consolidated their title celebrations with a comfortable 1-0 victory over rivals Al Rayyan in the Qatar Clasico yesterday.
The match rescheduled due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Al Sadd ranks, though with no impact on the League standings was fiercely contested but Abdelkarim Hassan’s 26th-minute strike ensured The Wolves’ unbeaten season remains flawless.
Al Sadd stretched their lead atop the standings to 59 with their 19th victory.
Al Rayyan on the other hand is stuck on 21 points following their disappointing 10th defeat of the season. Al Sadd had beaten Al Rayyan 4-2 in the first leg.
Al Sadd dominated the first half with Hassan giving them a deserving lead.
The left-back headed in a corner kick taken by former Arsenal and Spanish star Santi Cazorla, catching Al Rayyan defenders and goalkeeper Fahad Younes unawares.
Three minutes after the goal, Baghdad Bounedjah wreaked havoc at the Al Rayyan goal, but his shot was too feeble to beat goalkeeper Fahad Younes. Bounedjah and Ali Asad combined in the 41st minute, but the duo could not beat the goalkeeper.
Al Rayyan created a dangerous chance in the 44th minute as Yacine Brahimi’s cross from the left bounced off the Al Sadd defence and Shojae Khalilzadeh unleashed a strong shot, but goalkeeper Saad Al Dossari brilliantly saved it.
Al Sadd continued from where they left off in the second half. However, Al Rayyan attacked vigorously, with Brahimi and spearhead Yohan Boli leading their charge.
Ali Karami’s long-range shot in the 56th minute missed the target by a whisker.
Al Sadd, made a spate of substitutions mainly to strengthen their offence and regain control of the game. Bounedjah was thwarted by the goalkeeper on two occasions (53rd and 79th minutes). Al Rayyan sought an equaliser the hard way, but could not beat the Al Sadd defence. Boli’s free-kick which went wide of the target in stoppage time best exemplified that.
Al Sadd coach Javi Gracia said his side were good from start to finish.
“I am happy with what the players did today. We were good from start to finish,” the Spaniard said after the match.
“We have seen many players who did not get a chance in previous matches and I am very happy with what they did today. Our goal is to continue to perform well and reap more victories in the upcoming matches,” the Spaniard said.
Gracia said his team will now turn their attention to Amir Cup semi-finals, where they will take on arch-rivals Al Duhail.
Al Sadd defender Tariq Salman said The Wolves were the better team and emphasized his coach’s words, saying, “We are preparing well for the Amir Cup semi-final match.”
Meanwhile, Al Rayyan’s Mohamed Jumaa said his team have been making steady improvements under new coach, despite losing to Al Sadd yesterday. Rayyan sacked French coach Laurent Blanc last month with the World Cup winner paying for poor results despite big money signings. Former Chilean international Nicolas Cordova, who is in charge of Qatar's under-23 side, has taken over the coaching duties.
“We have begun to understand and implement what the coach wants despite the lack of time and the team's performance improved remarkably,” Jumaa said.
“Today's match against Al Sadd was a good preparation for what is coming to us in the Asian Champions League, as it is the only tournament left for us after our bad season in the league and our exit from the Amir Cup," he added.
