The 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League’s Week 7 action, held on Saturday and Sunday, October 28 and 29, 2023, witnessed exciting contests. Al Sadd regained the top spot in standings, Al Gharafa moved to second place and Al Rayyan fell to third place. While Al Wakrah and Al Duhail remained in fourth and fifth place respectively, Qatar SC advanced to the sixth position from eighth.

And Umm Salal slipped from sixth to seventh position.

In the bottom rung of standings, Al Arabi slipped from seventh to eighth place, Al Ahli moved to ninth place from 11th and Muaither fell to 10th spot from ninth. Al Shamal too lost grip, falling from 10th to 11th, while Al Markhiya stayed as the basement team.

A total of 24 goals were scored with an average of four goals per match. It was also the second-highest scoring round so far after Week 3, where 29 goals were scored.

All six matches ended in victories, and Al Sadd and Qatar SC emerged with clean sheets. The Al Rayyan vs Al Gharafa match was the highest-scoring game (seven goals) and Qatar SC recorded the biggest victory margin when they beat Al Markhiya 4-0.

RESULTS

Al Rayyan lost to Al Gharafa        3-4

Al Shamal lost to Al Duhail 1-2

Muaither lost to Al Sadd      0-2

Al Arabi lost to Al Ahli       2-3

Qatar SC bt Al Markhiya     4-0

Al Wakrah bt Umm Salal     2-1

The opener between Al Rayyan and Al Gharafa, which lived up to its top billing, was one of the best matches in terms of level and performance.

Al Rayyan succeeded in advancing by two goals, but were unable to maintain their lead as Al Gharafa equalized and then snatched a thrilling victory in the final minutes of the match.

Al Gharafa thus recorded their second victory in a row and fifth in the tournament (with a draw and a loss), raising their tally to 16 points in second place on goal difference behind Al Sadd, while Al Rayyan suffered their second defeat and stood on 15 points.

Al Duhail overcame Al Shamal by a 2-1 margin, moving on to 13 points to remain in fifth place with a postponed match from Week 6 against Al Wakrah in hand. Al Shamal remained on three points and are the only team not to have won so far.

Al Sadd defeated Muaither for their fifth victory this season and are on top of the table with a postponed match against Al Arabi from Week 6 in hand. Al Sadd and Al Wakrah are the only teams not to have lost this season.

Al Ahli recorded a thrilling win over Al Arabi, their second this season, with a distinguished performance. The Brigadiers now have six points, the same as Al Arabi but behind on goal difference. However, Al Arabi have a match in hand against Al Sadd.

Qatar SC achieved their second victory in a row by beating Al Markhiya to be on eight points, the same as Umm Salal, but ahead on goal difference. On the other hand, Al Markhiya suffered their sixth loss and remained on three points.

Al Wakrah beat Umm Salal to be on 14 points with a postponed match in hand.

Al Gharafa’s Yacine Brahimi continued to top the scorers’ list with 11 goals after scoring a brace against Al Rayyan. Al Wakrah’s Mohamed Benyettou, Al Duhail’s Michael Olunga and Al Ahli’s Naim Sliti are in second place with six goals each.