Doha: Al Sadd came back from a goal down to beat Al Arabi 3-1 in a strong clash in Week 14 of the 2024-2025 season Ooredoo Stars League at the Al Thumama Stadium on Thursday.
All of The Wolves three goals came in the second half after Al Arabi had opened the scoring in the 18th minute through Ahmed Alaaeldin.
Rafa Mújica fired home a brace (54th minute and 88th minute), and Akram Afif scored from the spot (76th minute, penalty) as Al Sadd bounced back to winning ways—moving their points tally to 28 while The Dream Team remained on 13 points.
Coming from a painful 0-1 defeat to Qatar SC in the previous week, Al Sadd were doubtlessly in no mood for a joke in this match, and they made their intentions known right from the start as they went on a direct attack against an opponent who were also determined to bounce back to winning ways after their loss to Al Wakrah in Week 13.
Al Sadd talisman, Afif, was caught offside in the seventh minute while attempting to pull off what would have been the opening goal of the encounter before Boualem Khoukhi’s right-footed shot from a direct free kick in the 11th minute went inches high.
While Al Arabi Team kept absorbing the pressure from Al Sadd, things suddenly went their way in the 18th minute when Al Sadd’s backline was caught napping, allowing Isaac Lihadji to send a defence-splitting pass to Alaaeldin, who successfully put to bed the brilliant sitter.
A stunned Al Sadd thereafter went in search of an equaliser but for all their efforts, Al Arabi remained resolute, with the defence efficiently thwarting all the efforts of their opponents’ attackers.
Things almost went further awry for Al Sadd in the 39th minute when Ahmed Suhail conceded a penalty for a foul on Al Arabi’s Youssef Msakni, but goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham pulled off an excellent save of Abdou Diallo subsequent spot kick to ensure that their lone goal remained going into halftime.
Al Sadd came out for the second half determined to avert a second successive loss in a league that has proved to be more competitive than ever.
After nine minutes of relentless pressure into the second half, Mújica gave the coach Felix Sanchez’s team something to cheer about when he nodded home Romain Saïss’ overhead cross from the centre of the box to restore parity for the away team.
With the match evenly balanced, Al Sadd continued to up their game, and it was not therefore surprising when they were awarded a penalty in the 75th minute for a push on Pedro Miguel in the final third, ironically by Diallo, who missed his own spot kick earlier on. The subsequent kick was tucked in by Afif, who sent goalkeeper Jasem Al Hail in the opposite direction with his right-footed shot a minute later.
By the 88th minute, Al Sadd had made it 3-1 with Mujica hitting the bull’s eye again with a left-footed shot from a difficult angle on the left, from an assist by Afif, to complete a total turnaround for a team that had appeared fragile in the first half. The team held on to their two-goal lead tenaciously to the end despite a late rally by Al Arabi, especially in added time of the highly entertaining encounter.
