The Week 2 matches of 2024-2025 season Ooredoo Stars League continued to produce excitement. Two games each were played on August 16, 17 and 18, 2024. Four of them produced wins and two ended in draws, one being goalless.
RESULTS
Umm Salal bt Al Shamal 3-2
Al Duhail bt Al Rayyan 4-0
Qatar SC lost to Al Sadd 1-5
Al Arabi drew Al Wakrah 1-1
Al Khor drew Al Shahania 0-0
Al Ahli bt Al Gharafa 1-0
As many as 18 goals were scored during the six matches, with an average of three goals per match - the same number of goals also scored in the opening week.
The biggest win was registered by Al Sadd (5-1) against Qatar SC.
Two matches of the week ended in draws, while four matches had results produced, with Al Duhail, Al Khor, Al Shahania and Al Ahli keeping their sheets clean.
The round also witnessed 27 yellow cards being shown, but there was no red card.
There were four players who scored two goals each – Umm Salal’s Victor Lehkal, Al Shamal’s Baghdad Bounedjah, Al Duhail’s Almoez Ali and Al Sadd’s Rafael Mujica.
Al Duhail (six points) topped the standings and they have now scored a total of 10 goals in two successive victories. In the first week, they had won against Qatar SC (6-1). Al Ahli are second with four points and Al Sadd third with three points, with a goal difference from Al Shamal, Umm Salal and Al Rayyan (who all are also on three points). Al Wakrah, Al Arabi, Al Shahania and Al Khor have two points each, while Al Gharafa have one point. Qatar SC (in 12th place) are yet to open their account.
Umm Salal began the round with an exciting win over Al Shamal and logged their first three points. In the first week, they had lost to Al Rayyan. Umm Salal took the initiative and scored through Victor Lekhal and Antonio Mance before Al Shamal scored their two goals through striker Baghdad.
Al Duhail achieved their big win over Al Rayyan, the runners-up of last season, continuing their good start after winning in the first week against Qatar SC. Al Duhail’s goals against Al Rayyan were scored by: Edmilson Junior (19th minute), Almoez Ali (47th and 77th minutes) and an own goal from Andre Amaro (66th minute).
Al Sadd bounced back strongly against Qatar SC with a roaring 5-1 win in a match that saw their new Spanish striker Rafa Mujica make his mark scoring two goals. The result saw Qatar SC’s wounds deepen with a second consecutive loss.
Al Wakrah in their match against Al Arabi gained lead through defender Lucas Mendes, but the scenario of the Al Ahli game in the first round was repeated as Al Wakrah squandered the opportunity for a second successive draw. Substitute Omar Al Somah got the equalizer for Al Arabi, a few minutes after coming on in the second half. Both teams shared points and continue without having achieved a win as yet.
A draw was also the result of the contest between entrants from the Second Division – Al Khor and Al Shahania – with each team getting their second point of the season after draws in the first two rounds.
The concluding clash of the week saw Al Ahli snatch an exciting 1-0 win over Al Gharafa after Oumar Sekou struck, making the most of a wonderful pass from the team’s German star Julian Draxler. The Brigadiers, under the leadership of their new Croatian coach Igor Biscan, thus succeeded in registering their first victory of the new season to reach a tally of four points, while Al Gharafa with their first loss of the season are still with a solitary point – following a draw in the first round against Al Shahania.