Al Arabi came from a goal down to defeat Al Ahli 4-2 in Week 16 of the 2024-2025 season Ooredoo Stars League at the Al Thumama Stadium on Sunday.

Rodri Sanchez netted a brace (33rd and 45th minutes), while Hassan Alaaeddin (29th minute) and Ahmed Alaaeddin (90+3 minute penalty) added one each to extend The Dream Team’s tally to 19 points.

The Brigadiers, on the other hand, got both of their goals from the penalty spot through Julian Draxler (14th minute) and Oumar Sekou (79th minute) as their points tally remained on 28 points.

The exciting match was evenly balanced between the two sides with nothing much in terms of wow moments for the first few minutes of the game until the 11th minute when Ahmed Fathy conceded a foul against Draxler in the penalty area.

Three minutes later, the scoreline read 1-0 in favour of Al Ahli, with the former German international wasting no time in converting from the spot with a right-footed shot.

The lead was almost doubled two minutes later by Hamad Mansour, if not for the sharp reflexes of Al Arabi goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada, who did well to save an angled shot from the Al Ahli midfielder.

With Al Ahli seemingly gaining the upper hand, Al Arabi unexpectedly sprung a surprise in the 29th minute, with Hassan Alaaeddin finishing off a square pass from Youssef Msakni, following a brilliant build from midfield, as parity was restored.

The equalizer appeared to be the turning point for Al Arabi as they took the lead in the 29th minute, this time through Sanchez, who took advantage of the rebound from a powerful shot by Alaaeddin to hit the net with a left-footer.

Sanchez got his brace and Al Arabi’s third just on the dot of regulation time in the first half to ensure a comfortable advantage for the hosts going into halftime.

Al Arabi, who have had mixed fortunes this season, continued to press hard on resumption of the concluding half, seemingly determined to ensure the victory was doubtlessly theirs this time around.

But with time slowly winding down, Al Ahli began to make some repeated, dangerous incursions into their opponents’ final third, but try as much as they did, Al Arabi ensured they made nothing out of the moves.

Al Ahli got an opportunity they had been waiting for to cut the deficit in the 76th minute when Al Arabi’s Luiz Ceara conceded a penalty for a dangerous play on Erik Exposito.

The decision that had to be ratified after a lengthy VAR check was successfully converted by substitute Sekou in the 80th minute.

Any hope of Al Ahli’s comeback, however, was ultimately extinguished in three minutes of added time after Ahmed Alaaeldin converted from the spot, following a foul on Yazan Al Naimat three minutes earlier, to ensure the match ended 4-2 in favour of Al Arabi.