Doha: A thrilling late goal saw Al Ahli upstage Al Khor 1-0 in their Week 14 match of the 2024-2025 season Ooredoo Stars League at the Al Khor Stadium on Wednesday.
While it came as late as the 87th minute of the match, it thrilled the fans as Al Ahli’s German professional Julian Draxler essayed a fabulous bicycle kick to leave the rivals in awe as much as in shock.
The attacking midfielder found himself to be in a perfect position to go for the kick after receiving a perfect lob from Erik Exposito. The move was initiated by Oumar Sekou who went around from the left to the right outside of the box before passing the ball to Exposito.
In the end, Draxler made the kick with his extended right leg to find the right corner of the net.
The win shored up Al Ahli into the third spot in the standings with 28 points to their credit, while the result gutted hopes of Al Khor, who remain at the bottom with seven points.
Al Khor had till the fag end done well to hold against the challenge of The Brigadiers despite suffering the miss of a chance just past the hour mark when Aymen Hussein failed to control a superb through cross from Spaniard Aitor Garcia Flores while being unmarked on the far left and with an open net to aim at.
With both teams battling hard, the breakthrough seemed elusive before Al Ahli made frantic efforts in the end to score and eventually did.
In the 85th minute, Al Ahli too had a close call when a Sekou attempt saw the ball skim over the top centre of the crossbar.
The win for Al Ahli overcomes their previous round 0-2 loss to Al Gharafa, while for Al Khor adds to their previous 1-2 defeat to Al Shahania.
