Al Duhail and Al Rayyan played out a thrilling goalless draw in Week 3 of the QNB Stars League at the Khalifa International Stadium on Sunday.

Al Duhail kept pace with Al Sadd who were held by Al Gharafa in the day’s earlier fixture, but remained second on goal difference.

Both Al Sadd and Al Duhail have seven points each, while Al Rayyan moved to five and are placed fifth in the standings.

Al Sailiya and Al Arabi are third and fourth in the table respectively.

It may be recalled that Al Duhail had not lost a single match en route to their QNB Stars League triumph last season.

It was the third time that Al Duhail and Al Rayyan were facing each other in recent times. While Al Duhail won 2-1 in last season’s Emir’s Cup final, Al Rayyan emerged as victorious in the season-opening Sheikh Jassim Cup 5-3 on penalties after regular time ended 1-1.

Al Duhail had more of the ball (58 per cent) and created more opportunities. Al Rayyan goalkeeper Omar Barry stood out with a series of saves as he thwarted rival attackers Yousef El Arabi, Paulo Edmilson, Almoez Ali and Nam Tae-Hee.

Barry’s acrobatics below the bar were more in the first half, where Al Duhail enjoyed 66 per cent possession.    

Al Rayyan continued to miss injured Moroccan striker Abderrazaq Hamdallah, while new recruit Jonathan Menendez, expectedly, could not take the field as his paper works from previous club Independiente of Argentina were pending.

The plot was same in the second half. Ali Afif replaced Edmilson in the 78th minute and, immediately after, the former unleashed a shot against the left upright.

Al Duhail’s Abdullah Al Ahrak also came close to scoring in the 87th minute.

Rodrigo Tabata, as always, mainly orchestrated Al Rayyan’s moves, well supported by Sebastian Soria, Koh Myong-Jin, Mowafak Awad, Mohammed Juma and Khalfan Ibrahim in the fast-paced match.     

Al Duhail will now focus on their AFC Champions League first-leg quarterfinal against Iran’s Persepolis at home on 28th August.