Al Sadd beat Al Sailiya 4-0 in Week 16 of the 2022-2023 season QNB Stars League at the Al Sadd Stadium on Friday.

The defending champions provided a glimpse of their authority and class holding sway and not providing any leeway to the opponents.

Al Sadd led 3-0 at half-time and their goals came from Akram Afif (10th minute), Guilherme Torres (25th minute), Baghdad Bounedjah (31st minute) and Ahmed Sayyar (75th minute).

The victory saw Al Sadd consolidate their third place in the table with 28 points. Al Sailiya slid to the bottom position with nine points.

The match witnessed Moroccan player Ayoub El Kaabi make his debut for Al Sadd.

The opening goal, from a counter initiated by Akram, was a fine combination of long passes after the mercurial forward ran down the stretch from the left and Santi Cazorla sent the ball back for Akram to score with a long strike that went into the right corner of the net.

Al Sadd showed more of their class in their second goal, with Brazilian midfielder Guilherme Torres (returning from suspension) making a 35-yard strike that rocketed into the top left corner of the goal. He was assisted by Cazorla with a fine pass from the left.

The Wolves added another goal in quick succession, with Algerian Bounedjah scoring from in front of the goal after Ali Asad passed the ball to him following his own header.

Al Markhiya survived a scare when, in the 54th minute, a Cazorla kick hit the crossbar and fell out. He was given the pass by Bounedjah.

Al Sadd, however, added the fourth goal with their free-flowing play and good passing. Ahmed Sayyar, after passing the ball to a team-mate, scored off a rebound from the rival goalkeeper.