The postponed Week 13 matches of the 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League were played on April 16 and 17, 2024 and witnessed great club rivalry and fierce battles, both at the top and bottom of the table.

Title contenders Al Sadd bounced back from their Week 20 loss to Al Duhail with a bang as they overwhelmed Al Ahli 9-1 to strengthen their lead at the top while Al Markhiya held on to their hopes of staying in the league with a fighting 3-2 win over Al Gharafa. This was also Al Markhiya’s second win a row after they had defeated Al Ahli 4-1 in the previous round. Al Markhiya are pushing hard to move away from the relegation spot with two more rounds remaining before the league championship ends.

The Week 13 games produced 28 goals with the most number of goals (10) coming from Al Sadd vs Al Ahli clash. Five matches saw results with Al Sadd, Al Rayyan, Al Duhail, Umm Salal and Al Markhiya registering wins, while the game between Al Shamal and Al Wakrah ended in a goalless draw.

The round also saw two players being shown the red card – Abdulaziz Metwali of Al Wakrah and Idrissa Doumbia of Al Ahli – whereas 20 players received yellow card.

The round also witnessed the departure of Al Wakrah coach Jose Murcia, whose contract was terminated by the club after four months and it was announced that Ali Rehema Al Marri would replace him until the end of the season. In the previous round, Al Ahli coach Pedro Miguel was replaced with Khaled Taj.

RESULTS

Al Shamal drew Al Wakrah   0-0

Al Markhiya bt Al Gharafa   3-2

Umm Salal bt Al Arabi 2-1

Muaither lost to Al Duhail     2-5

Qatar SC lost to Al Rayyan    0-3

Al Ahli lost to Al Sadd  1-9

The opening match brought Al Shamal and Al Wakrah together at the Al Bayt Stadium and ended in an exciting goalless draw, with both teams coming close to scoring on a number of occasions. Al Wakrah had comparatively more possession and strikes at the target, but Al Shamal held on well.

The match witnessed the expulsion of Al Wakrah’s Metwali after his furious interaction with Al Shamal’s Matias Nani in the 90th minute of the match. VAR check confirmed the red card.

The result of the game saw Al Shamal’s tally move to 22 points being in eighth place, while Al Wakrah rose to 38 points in the fourth position.

The second match saw Al Markhiya score a valuable victory over Al Gharafa (3-2).

Al Markhiya’s goals were scored by Gambian Yusupha Njie (45+2 and 90+7 minutes) and Iraqi Bashar Resan (55th minute), while Al Gharafa’s goals were scored by Dame Traore (23rd minute) and Algerian Yacine Brahimi (89th minute penalty). Brahimi had earlier missed a penalty kick as the shot hit the crossbar before returning to score from the spot a second time, but Njie’s strike in stoppage time ensured victory for Al Markhiya.

The win took Al Markhiya’s tally to 14 points, they still being in 12th place, while Al Gharafa remained on 41 points, falling to third place on goal difference to Al Rayyan (second) and five points adrift of leaders Al Sadd, two rounds prior to the end of the league.

Reigning champions Al Duhail succeeded in scoring a big 5-2 win over Muaither. The goals for Al Duhail were scored by Michael Olunga (eighth & 80th minutes), Almoez Ali (40th minute), Philippe Coutinho (46th minute) and Rashid Al Abdullah (89th minute).

For Muaither, Hugo Gomes (23rd minute) and Ayman Al Hassouni (42nd minute) scored.

The win took Al Duhail’s tally to 28 points advancing to fifth place, achieving their eighth victory of the season and benefiting from Al Arabi’s loss to Umm Salal at the same time.

Meanwhile, Muaither’s tally stood at 14 points, they being in 11th place and tied with Al Markhiya but ahead on goal difference thus igniting a relegation play-off place struggle with two crucial rounds now remaining.

Umm Salal settled their score with Al Arabi winning 2-1. Al Arabi went ahead in the game with a goal from Mohamed Taabouni in the 23rd minute, but Kenji Gorre (63rd minute) and Oussama Tannane (84th minute) ensured a positive result for Umm Salal, who now have a total of 24 points being seventh in the rankings, while Al Arabi with 26 points fell to sixth place and are behind Al Duhail.

Al Rayyan continued their strong show and achieved a valuable 3-0 victory at the expense of Qatar SC. The goals for Al Rayyan came from Ibrahim Majed (sixth-minute own goal), Rodrigo Moreno (ninth minute) and Achraf Bencharki (76th minute).

Al Rayyan are now second in the rankings and ahead on goal difference from Al Gharafa (third), both teams having 41 points to their credit, and chasing leaders Al Sadd (46 points). Qatar SC’s tally stood at 19 points, they being in 10th place.

Leaders Al Sadd were back with their winning ways as they defeated Al Ahli 9-1. Baghdad Bounedjah scored a hat-trick for the winners striking in the 69th, 80th & 90+5 minute, while Akram Afif scored a brace scoring in the third & 56th minutes. The other Al Sadd goals came from Yousuf Abdurisag (32nd minute), Guilherme Torres (35th minute), Mohammed Al Ishaq (own goal, 59th minute) and Ilyes Brimil (75th minute).

Al Ahli’s consolation goal was scored by Oumar Sekou in the 45th minute.

The big win saw Al Sadd take their points tally to 46 to stay at the top, while Al Ahli with 20 points are in ninth place.

The match saw Al Ahli player Doumbia being given the marching orders in the 50th minute.