Al Sadd defeated Umm Salal 2-0 in Week 18 of the 2021-2022 season QNB Stars League at the Al Sadd Stadium on Wednesday.

Baghdad Bounedjah (15th minute) and Santi Cazorla (90+2) scored the goals as Al Sadd cruised towards retaining the title with 46 points from 16 matches and an unbeaten record.  

Spaniard Javi Gracia’s wards have two matches in hand – against Qatar SC (from Week 13) and Al Rayyan (Qatar Clasico from Week 14) – which were postponed.

It was Al Sadd’s 15th victory. They were held only once, by Al Duhail 3-3 in Week 9.

On the other hand, Umm Salal, who were in outstanding form of late, suffered back-to-back setbacks as they had lost 1-2 to Qatar SC in Week 17.

Umm Salal stood on 25 points from 18 matches following their fifth defeat.

It may be recalled that Al Sadd had beaten Umm Salal 3-1 in the first leg of 2021-2022 season QNB Stars League.

The match was exciting and Al Sadd were able to take an early lead through Bounedjah, whose strong shot from outside the penalty area rested in the far right corner of the Umm Salal goal. In fact, the Algerian ace capitalized on a defensive mistake committed by Umm Salal.

In the 29th minute, Umm Salal scored a goal through Abdulrahman Al Rashidi, but the goal was ruled out via VAR as his team-mate Yassin Bakhit was offside.

As the match progressed, Al Sadd asserted their supremacy, especially in the midfield.

Umm Salal dominated the match in patches in the second half. Yassin Bakhit’s solo effort in the 57th minute was thwarted by Al Sadd goalkeeper Saad Al Dossari, conceding a corner kick.

Even as both teams tried hard for a goal, Al Sadd to ensure full points and Umm Salal to draw parity, Cazorla found the target in stoppage time to make it a comfortable victory for Al Sadd.