Al Sadd’s coach Xavi Hernandez greets Al Rayyan’s new coach Laurent Blanc during their QNB Stars League match, played at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, yesterday.
Feared striker Baghdad Bounedjah scored deep into the second half as Al Sadd edged arch-rivals Al Rayyan 1-0 in their traditional Qatar Clasico clash at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
After a sensational first half performance from both the sides, Al Sadd dominated the final session with Bounedjah netting the winner in 83rd minute – once again proving his mettle following his brace in the Wolves’ 2-1 win over Al Arabi in the Amir Cup final on Friday.
Yesterday’s stiff loss came in French coach Laurent Blanc’s first match in charge of Al Rayyan.
With Al Ahli being thrashed by Qatar SC 4-1 in yesterday’s other match, Xavi Hernandez-coached Al Sadd moved 7 points clear on top of the QNB Stars League (QSL) table with Al Gharafa retaining their second place with 21 points.
Xavi, with his vast experience in Qatar, clinched the opening battle with Blanc in Qatar Clasico, dubbed the battle between two big names of football world, although both coaches hugged each other after the tense tie.
As expected, the match got off to a fast start and swung both ways with both the top teams enjoying moments of brilliance. The players were charged up for the big match exchanging attacks right from the first whistle.
Ivorian striker Yohan Boli almost put Al Rayyan ahead in the 10th minute but he was declared off-side after he pushed the ball past Al Sadd goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham on a Mohammed Al Alawi cross. Boli outpaced his marker to pick Mohammed Juma Al Alawi’s cross and deflected the ball into the net from close range but the linesman declared the move off-side.
Al Sadd too were creating their chances and came close to scoring after feared striker Akram Afif sneaked into the circle from a long pass in the 22nd minute.
Afif, the current AFC Player of the Year, would not miss such a chance but all credit to young Al Rayyan goalkeeper Fahad Younis, who held his nerves to block the attempt.
The first 30 minutes did not yield any goal but the fans had already enjoyed thrilling action with Al Sadd, who took two shots on target, having a slight edge over their arch-rivals.
The Wolves came close to scoring again in the 33rd minute after national team player Boualem Khouki’s snap-header - on a high jump - from a long cross landed on the top of the net.
With less than 10 minutes left in the half-time, Al Rayyan made a few attacks and won a corner in one of those moves that could have given them the lead.
Gabriel Mercado’s touch from the corner kick created a goalmouth melee and Al Sadd were lucky not to concede a goal as none of the three Al Rayyan players managed to get a goal-scoring touch.
Al Sadd responded with a few threatening attacks but the stalemate continued as referee Abdulhadi Alasmar blew the half-time whistle.
The high-octane match resumed in a similar fashion with Al Sadd making another fiery attack and was well responded by Al Rayyan with a counter attack.
Afif set Bounedjah but the Algerian - marked tightly - failed to find the target from close range. Afif remained instrumental in more Al Sadd attacks with his brilliance but the wait continued for Clasico’s opening goal. Al Sadd, however, begun to dominate the proceedings keeping the ball in possession.
With the clock closing on an hour-mark, Xavi sent Hasan Al Haydos to replace Rodrigo Tabata, who hardly made his presence felt yesterday.
Afif missed a golden opportunity by his standards after receiving an angular pass from Al Haydos but he fired the ball straight in hands of goalkeeper Younis.
Bounedjah also missed an opportunity of scoring from a close range off a rising ball from former Arsenal midfielder Santiago Cazorla.
In the 78th minute, Blanc sent fresh legs in Abdulaziz Hazaa while calling back Boli as Al Rayyan were totally on the receiving against fiery Al Sadd. However, luck owing to missed chances and a brave show from Younis kept them at par on the scorecard with their rivals.
Al Sadd's Santiago Cazorla congratulates Baghdad Bounedjah after the latter scored against Al Rayyan yesterday.
Finally, Al Sadd broke the deadlock in another Afif-inspired attack after Cazorla picked his pass and set Bounedjah, who took a diving touch with a low pass from the Spaniard. It was Bounedjah’s sixth goal of the season.
Soon after the opening goal, influential defender Abdelkarim Hassan came off the bench to help Al Sadd maintain the lead for remainder of the match. Barsham made a good save from Al Rayyan captain Yacine Brahimi’s free kick, which turned out to be Al Rayyan’s last effort as Al Sadd wrapped up another good performance of the season. It was Al Sadd’s 9th win as they remained the only unbeaten side of the season.
In other Round 10 clash, Al Ahli conceded three penalties (48’,68’, 89’) and Qatar SC’s Yousif Belaili converted all at Hamad Bin Khalifa Stadium to hand them huge defeat.
Anthony Okpotu scored Qatar SC’s first goal in the 10th minute while Al Ahli's only goal came from a penalty taken by Nabil El Zhar in the 42nd minute.
Al Ahli remained third with 19 minutes after the loss.
Earlier yesterday, Al Arabi moved to 9 points after defeating Al Kharaitiyat 3-1 at Al Ahli Stadium, yesterday.
Ibrahim Nasser Kalla (16), Mehrdad Mohammadi (47) and Aron Gunnarsson (55) scored Al Arabi’s goals while Rachid Tiberkanine scored the only goal of Al Kharaitiyat in the 50th minute.
After Tiberkanine’s slick strike came what could be described the most spectacular goal of the season so far.
Iceland star Gunnarsson, after receiving a short pass near the edge of his own box, ran with the ball for a short distance and then in one single move fired the ball from around 70 yards into the net with Al Kharaitiyat keeper way out of position. The long-range shot took Al Kharaitiyat goalkeeper by surprise and he could do little to stop the ball from going into the net.
