The 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League’s Week 17 action, held over three days from March 10 to 12, 2024, witnessed four wins and two draws.

The summit clash between table toppers Al Sadd and Al Arabi ended in a 2-2 draw allowing Al Sadd to maintain their lead with 37 points, while Al Arabi stayed fifth with 22 points.

Al Wakrah rallied for a thrilling 2-1 victory over Al Duhail raising their tally to 31 points in fourth place, while Al Duhail are seventh with 19 points.

Al Gharafa succeeded in clinging on to the competition by defeating Muaither 2-0 to move into second place with 34 points.

Al Shamal also succeeded in achieving their second successive victory as they prevailed 2-0 over Al Markhiya. Al Shamal’s tally thus moved to 18 points in ninth place.

Al Rayyan returned with an exciting 2-2 draw with Umm Salal, dropping to third place with 32 points, and Umm Salal improved from seventh to sixth with 20 points.

Al Ahli were also one of the biggest beneficiaries during this round by achieving a 3-1 victory over Qatar SC to maintain eighth place and raise their tally by three points to reach 19 points, equal with Al Duhail (seventh) on goal difference.

Qatar SC remained in 10th place with 13 points, Muaither are in 11th place with 11 points and Al Markhiya 12th place with eight points.

RESULTS

Al Arabi drew Al Sadd      2-2

Al Wakrah bt Al Duhail    2-1

Muaither lost to Al Gharafa       0-2

Al Shamal bt Al Markhiya         2-0

Qatar SC lost to Al Ahli     1-3

Al Rayyan drew Umm Salal       2-2

The week witnessed 19 goals, with an average of 3.16 goals per match, and the largest winning margin was achieved by Al Ahli (3-1) against Qatar SC.

Al Shamal and Al Gharafa emerged with clean sheets, while Umm Salal striker Kenji Gorre and Al Sadd star Akram Afif scored two goals each.

Yellow cards were flashed 23 times and red card twice – to Tamim Al Muhaza of Al Markhiya and Oussama Tannane of Umm Salal.

The match between Al Arabi and Al Sadd ended in a 2-2 draw as The Dream Team turned a 0-2 deficit into an exciting 2-2 draw in a strong clash. The first half ended with Al Sadd leading 2-1, with their top scorer Akram Afif scoring two goals and Al Arabi’s Rafinha one.

The excitement for Al Arabi reached its peak in the dying minutes of the second half, especially when the referee awarded them a penalty kick, but Omar Al Somah missed as Al Sadd goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb brilliantly blocked the spot kick. But Al Somah scored in the penultimate minute of added time and the match ended in a 2-2 draw.

Al Wakrah came from a goal down to win 2-1 against Al Duhail. Khaled Mohammed and Mohamed Benyettou scored for Al Wakrah while Michael Olunga scored for Al Duhail. Al Wakrah achieved their ninth victory of the league season, while Al Duhail suffered their seventh loss.

Al Shamal achieved a valuable 2-0 victory over Al Markhiya with goals from Faisal Azadi and Ricardo Gomes, making this their second win in a row after they beat Umm Salal in Week 16. Al Shamal added the three valuable points to their tally, while Al Markhiya fell to a loss after they beat Al Wakrah in Week 15 and scored a creditable draw against Al Duhail in Week 16.

Al Gharafa also achieved an exciting 2-1 win over Muaither after the first half had ended goalless. In the second half, The Cheetahs scored two goals through Lyanco and Yacine Brahimi. The win placed Al Gharafa in second place in the standings as they await a strong and important match against Al Rayyan on Sunday in the 18th round.

Al Ahli rallied to beat Qatar SC, who led by a goal scored by German star Julian Draxler in the first half. Qatar SC bounced back in the second half with an equalizer in the 64th minute through their captain and Spanish midfielder Javi Martinez.

Qatar SC then went on the attack looking to score more, but Al Ahli hit back with two late goals – in the 90th minute through Eissa Al Nagar and with a second through Jordanian Yazan Al Naimat in the 10th minute of stoppage time. Al Ahli thus gained three additional points to strengthen their position, while Qatar SC suffered their ninth loss of the season.

In the most exciting match of the week, Al Rayyan were held to a 2-2 draw by Umm Salal after the latter led 1-0 at half-time, with Gorre scoring. The Orange Fortress gained more advantage with a second goal from Gorre in the second half.

Al Rayyan, however, fought back and Ahmed Al Rawi scored their first goal and Roger Guedes scored their equalizing goal in 90+4 minute. The result, however, halted Al Rayyan’s winning streak after they had won in their four previous matches.