DOHA: Al Ahli beat Al Khor 2-1 in Week 3 of the 2024-2025 season Ooredoo Stars League at the Al Thumama Stadium on Friday.
German star Julian Draxler (68th minute) and substitute Abdelrhman Mohamed (90th minute) scored for Al Ahli, while Al Khor’s lone goal was scored by their captain Sofiane Hanni in the 85th minute.
With the result, Al Ahli now have seven points, while Al Khor, who are yet to register a win in the new season, remained on two points from the draws played in their previous two matches.
The match began on a cautious note, with both sides playing it safe for much of the first 20 minutes of the encounter. Things began to get livelier as the match wore on, but none of the forwards on each side were able to pose any major threats, at least in the final third, on their opposing half of the field.
Al Ahli’s Spanish forward Erik Expósito almost got his 25-yard shot deflected into goal by Al Khor’s Rúben Semedo in the 26th minute, but by a stroke of sheer luck, the ball went just a few inches wide for a corner kick, which eventually did not produce the desired result.
Despite The Brigadiers having the largest share of possession (66%) in the first half, they could not convert their control of the game into a lead as Al Khor’s defence, marshalled by Semedo, Khaled Massad and Khaled Radwan, stood their ground as they curtailed the advances of their opponents.
With a goalless first half, all eyes were on the latter half of the match for the deadlock to be finally broken.
Al Ahli continued from where they stopped as they maintained their dominance, at least possession-wise, but for all their efforts, Al Khor remained unyielding.
Al Khor also had some chances of their own, prominent among them being Adil Rhaili’s glancing header off a corner kick in the 61st minute, but none of them were able to hit the right target.
Al Ahli kept their pressure on against their opponent, and Driss Fettouhi had his low-driven shot from a set piece in the 66th minute parried into a corner kick by goalkeeper Ahmed Basher Ali.
Two minutes later, Al Ahli finally got their desire, with Draxler finding the back of the net with a powerful strike that located the bottom left-hand corner of Al Khor’s goal from a brilliant pass by substitute Abdelrahman Mohamed, who came in to replace Expósito just a few seconds before the brilliant assist.
Al Ahli appeared to rest on their oars after their lead as Al Khor continued to gain strength as if fired into action by their deficit. It was therefore no surprise when the equalizer arrived in the 85th minute courtesy of Hanni, who finished off a quick interchange between him and Ahmed Hassan Al Mohanadi inside The Brigadiers 18-yard box with a right-footed shot that caught goalkeeper Marwan Badreldin napping.
Stunned by the equalizer, Al Ahli did not take too long to respond to restore their lead with a brilliant effort from Abdelrahman Mohamed, who received the ball from Draxler just at the edge of the box and did cut it with his right foot before unleashing a curling shot with the left that sailed effortlessly into the bottom right angle of Al Khor’s goal in the 90th minute.
A late drama ensued in five minutes of added time, with Al Khor initially awarded a penalty for a foul by Al Ahli’s defender Bahaa Ellethy inside the 18-yard box, but the decision was eventually rescinded after a lengthy VAR check, ensuring that Al Ahli went home with a win and the maximum points in their kitty.
