There were lots of exciting moments as the curtains came down on Week 9 of the 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League, held on November 24 and 25, 2023. A total of five matches were played, with four of them ending in wins, while there was one draw after the Al Sadd versus Al Duhail match was postponed due to the continental engagements of both teams.

Al Gharafa became the sole leader of the standings after achieving their seventh victory, which came after they defeated Umm Salal 2-1, to reach 22 points. Umm Salal remained on 11 points.

Al Sadd are second with 19 points.

Al Wakrah remained in third place with 17 points despite losing to 1-2 to Al Arabi, and Al Duhail are in fourth place with 16 points, the same as fifth-placed Al Rayyan, who were held to a goalless draw by Muaither. Al Duhail lead Al Rayyan on goal difference.

Umm Salal are in sixth place with 11 points. Al Arabi also achieved an exciting victory over Al Wakrah with a score of 2-1, advancing to seventh place with nine points, the same as Al Shamal and Al Ahli, who are in eighth and ninth place respectively.

Al Shamal beat Qatar SC 2-0 and Al Ahli defeated Al Markhiya by the same score.

Qatar SC dropped to 10th place from seventh with eight points. Muaither remained in 11th place with five points. Al Markhiya stod in 12th place with three points.

RESULTS

Qatar SC lost to Al Shamal        0-2

Al Markhiya lost to Al Ahli        0-2

Al Arabi bt Al Wakrah      2-1

Umm Salal lost to Al Gharafa   1-2

Muaither drew Al Rayyan         0-0

A total of 10 goals were scored during the five matches, with an average of two goals per game. Al Shamal, Al Ahli, Al Rayyan and Muaither emerged with clean sheets.

The week witnessed two red cards, to Qatar SC’s Raoul Sanda and Al Wakrah’s Hamdi Fathi.

South Korean defender Jang Hyun-Soo made his Expo Stars League debut with Al Gharafa.

Al Shamal maintain winning momentum

Al Shamal maintained their winning momentum and strong performances as they achieved their second consecutive victory in the tournament by defeating Qatar SC. Al Shamal took the lead with an early goal by Faisal Mohamed and, in the second half, Omid Ebrahimi added the second goal.

Al Shamal had won their Week 8 match against Al Ahli (2-1), while Qatar SC suffered their second defeat in a row after losing in the eighth round against Al Wakrah (0-1).

Al Ahli return to winning ways

Al Ahli bounced back to victory by defeating Al Markhiya. The two teams made several attempts at goals in the early minutes of the match. The match was highly contested, especially in the midfield, and Al Ahli’s Abdulrasheed Ibrahim and Yazan Al Naimat succeeded in scoring.

 

Al Arabi inflict first loss on Al Wakrah

Al Wakrah suffered their first defeat of this season, at the hands of  Al Arabi who came from a goal down to achieve a 2-1 victory.

The first half ended with Al Wakrah leading with a goal through Khaled Munir and, in the second half, Al Arabi equalized through Yousef Msakni. Then the most important shot came a minute before the end of regulation time, when Jassim Jaber scored the winning goal for Al Arabi with a header.

Al Gharafa in the lead

Al Gharafa continued their victories and strong performances and succeeded in defeating Umm Salal. Al Gharafa were the first to score through Farid Boulaya and Kenji Gorre equalized for Umm Salal before Ferjani Sassi sealed the victory for Al Gharafa.

Muaither, Al Rayyan in draw

Muaither and Al Rayyan tied without goals at the Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium of Al Ahli club.

This draw was Al Rayyan’s first during the season after winning five matches and losing three, while Muaither are tying for the second time this season after winning a match and losing six.