The 2023-2024 Expo Stars League’s Week 1 action, held on August 16, 17 and 18, 2023, witnessed four wins and two draws as all teams geared up for an exciting season ahead.

RESULTS

Al Wakrah bt Muaither 3-0

Al Arabi drew Al Shamal       1-1

Qatar SC drew Al Gharafa    4-4

Al Markhiya lost to Al Rayyan        0-1

Al Ahli lost to Al Duhail         1-2

Umm Salal lost to Al Sadd 1-3

A total of 21 goals were scored during the six matches, with an average of 3.5 goals per match. The biggest victory this week was achieved by Al Wakrah over Muaither, while the Qatar SC vs Al Gharafa match witnessed the largest number of goals. Al Wakrah and Al Rayyan emerged with clean sheets.

Al Wakrah open the season with win over Muaither

Al Wakrah made a great start by scoring three goals without any response from Muaither to secure all three points. On the other hand, Muaither performed well  and the team had a great appearance despite the defeat.

Al Wakrah scored two goals within two minutes just before the end of first half, as Mohamed Benyettou opened the scoring in the 45th minute and in stoppage time of the first half, Ayoub Assal added the second.

In the second half, Ayoub Assal added his second goal and the third for Al Wakrah from a mistake by goalkeeper Ivanildo Rodrigues.

 

Al Arabi and Al Shamal in 1-1 draw

Al Arabi and Al Shamal teams tied with a goal each. Al Shamal had much of the advantage at the beginning of first half and they were closest to opening the scoring as they piled pressure on Al Arabi with relentless attempts at goal.

Al Arabi turned on the offensive and their attacks yielded the desired result in the 29th minute when Matias Nani deflected the ball into his own net while trying to negotiate action following a corner kick to end the first half with The Dream Team advancing with a goal.

Al Shamal succeeded in translating their advantage to score the equalizer through Jordanian Ali Olwan after a mistake by defender Jassem Jaber in the 90+2 minute, so the match ended with a goal for each of them.

 

An exciting tie settles summit between Qatar SC and Al Gharafa

Al Gharafa tied Qatar SC with four goals each in an exciting match that witnessed the brilliance of Qatar SC’s Brazilian striker Bruno Tabata, who scored a hat-trick.

Qatar SC opened the scoring in the sixth minute with Tabata’s goal and the same player doubled the lead in the 20th minute. Yohan Boli reduced the score for Al Gharafa in the 35th minute before Ahmed Al Janehi equalized deep into injury time of the first half.

In the 58th minute and, in a wonderful way, Tabata completed his hat-trick and gave his team the lead before Al Janehi grabbed his brace and the third for his team to equalize in the 77th minute.

In stoppage time, Algerian Yacine Brahimi gave Al Gharafa the lead in a distinctive way and, in the last seconds of the match, the excitement continued until Ben Malango managed to save his team from losing and score the fourth goal.

 

Al Rayyan achieve hard victory over Al Markhiya

Al Rayyan achieved a difficult victory with a lone goal against Al Markhiya. The match was fast, open and exciting, and the teams displayed great football in terms of speed and tactics.

The game witnessed the remarkable brilliance of Al Rayyan goalkeeper Fahd Younes, who prevented four clear chances for Al Markhiya.

Al Rayyan’s Roger Guedes scored the only goal of the match in the 30th minute.

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Al Duhail begin title defence by defeating Al Ahli

Al Duhail started their title defence with a difficult victory over Al Ahli, winning by two goals to one.

The first half began with the two teams giving a good account of themselves as each side tried to control the midfield and take possession of the ball. After several attempts, Kenyan striker Michael Olunga managed to open the scoring following a cross from Almoez Ali in the 23rd minute.

In the second half, Al Duhail continued on the offensive and they doubled their lead in the 48th minute through new signing Ibrahim Diallo.

Eslam Yassein scored Al Ahli’s only goal in the 54th minute. He was assisted by Yazan Al Naimat.

 

Al Sadd begin season with deserved victory over Umm Salal

Al Sadd achieved a 3-1 victory over Umm Salal at the end of first round of competition.

Al Sadd scored an early goal after less than five minutes, which was the fastest goal in the first round, through their star Akram Afif. Brazilian Guillerme Torres scored the second goal in the 26th minute from a pass by new Ecuadorian winger Gonzaloa Plata.

Three minutes into the second half, Yusuf Abdurisag scored the third goal for Al Sadd.

Umm Salal scored their only goal in the 86th minute five minutes before the end of the match through Algerian professional Andy Delort.

Tabata leads scorers’ list

Qatar SC’s Brazilian striker Bruno Tabata emerged as the top scorer at the end of first round of Expo Stars League with three goals. Al Gharafa’s Ahmed Al Janehi and Al Wakrah’s Ayoub Assal have two goals each.