The 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League Week 10 matches played on December 1 and 2, 2023, saw some top-of-the-draw stuff. A total of six matches were played, with five of them ending in wins and one game ending in a draw.

RESULTS

Al Markhiya lose to Al Arabi 4-0

Al Duhail lose to Umm Salal   1-0

Al Sadd bt Al Shamal   4-0

Al Gharafa drew Al Wakrah 1-1

Qatar SC bt Muaither   3-2

Al Ahli lose to Al Rayyan       4-0

As many as 20 goals were scored with three matches ending in a 4-0 scoreline. Al Arabi, Umm Salal, Al Sadd and Al Rayyan were the teams to emerge with clean sheets.

The red card was flashed four times, to Mohammed Abdulla (Al Markhiya), Jassim Al Hashemi (Al Shamal), Abdoulaye Bakayoko (Muaither) and Abdulrasheed Ibrahim (Al Ahli).

Al Gharafa maintained the lead in the standings, while Umm Salal, Qatar SC and Al Rayyan got back to winning ways. Al Arabi recorded a second successive win.

Al Gharafa drew with Al Wakrah, while Al Sadd beat Al Shamal to reduce the gap with the leaders to two points. Al Sadd still have with two postponed matches remaining to be played, against Al Arabi and Al Duhail.

Al Rayyan advanced two places, from fifth to third after their win, while other challenging teams stumbled losing points. Al Wakrah fell to fourth place after a drawn result, while Al Duhail dropped out of the top four to fifth place after losing, but they have two postponed matches still to play.

Qatar SC moved up from being 10th to eighth following their win over Muaither.

As for the teams aiming to move out of the relegation zone, Al Markhiya remained in 12th place, Muaither in 11th and Al Ahli fell to 10th spot on goal difference with Al Shamal (ninth).

Al Gharafa reached 23 points, Al Sadd are second with 22 points, Al Rayyan third with 19 points, Al Wakrah fourth with 18 points, Al Duhail fifth with 16 points, Umm Salal sixth with 14 points, Al Arabi seventh with 12 points, Qatar SC eighth with 11 points, Al Shamal and Al Ahli are ninth and 10th respectively with nine points, Muaither 11th with five points and Al Markhiya 12th with three points.

Al Arabi opened the round with a victory over Al Markhiya, which was their second successive win and the third in the league this season. They were impressive and delighted their fans, who have been expecting for the team to continue the good run. On the other hand, Al Markhiya continued to suffer with continued loss of points despite some challenging play. They have achieved only one win until now.

Umm Salal registered a valuable 1-0 win over Al Duhail and despite The Red Knights’ superiority throughout the two sessions of the match, they could not take advantage of the available opportunities. Umm Salal relied on quick attacks and snatched the winner for their fourth victory in the tournament.

Al Sadd also continued their winning show and progress in the table achieving their seventh victory. The Wolves are also the only team who have not suffered a defeat as yet in the league. Their win came against Al Shamal, who suffered their fifth loss of the season in the league after wins in Week 8 and 9.

The victory for Al Sadd provides them a morale boost ahead of their clash with Uzbekistan’s FC Nasaf in the sixth round of AFC Champions League.

The match between Al Gharafa and Al Wakrah was strong and exciting, with both sides battling to win the three points. But the contest ended in a draw, leaving Al Gharafa in the lead by a point ahead of Al Sadd, who still have two postponed matches to play. Al Wakrah, who also have a postponed match on hand, obtained one point and fell from third to fourth place in the standings.

Qatar SC pulled off a thrilling last-gasp 3-2 win over Muaither, thanks to the goal from Moroccan defender Badr Benoun, who scored in stoppage time with the match being tied at 2-2. Benoun’s brilliant goal from a header helped Qatar SC gain the three valuable points and left an equally-impressive Muaither end up on the losing side.

Al Rayyan’s 4-0 win over Al Ahli concluded the exciting Week 10. It was The Lions’ sixth win of the season and an important gain for the team pitching them in the top three of the standings ahead of their crucial Week 11 meeting with Al Sadd in Qatar Clasico.

For Al Ahli, it was their seventh loss of the season. They have scored three wins so far.