Al-Sadd continued their winning start in the Expo Stars League by defeating Al-Ahli 4-2 in the Round 2 match held at Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday.

With this win, Al-Sadd advanced to 6 points, having won against Umm Salal and Al-Ahli.

Al-Sadd’s goals were scored by Mohammad Amin Hazbavi in the 7th minute, followed by Akram Afif from a penalty kick in the 26th minute, and then Yousuf Abdurisag in the 62nd minute, before Gonzalo Plata added the fourth goal in the 79th minute. Al-Ahli’s goals were scored by Naïm Sliti through two penalty kicks in the 76th and 82nd minutes. The match also witnessed Al-Sadd’s defender Ahmed Suhail receiving a red card in the 74th minute. ... 

Al-Sadd’s Musaab Khidir described the upcoming match against Al-Ahli in the second week of the Expo Stars League as tough and challenging.

Musab stated during the press conference, “Undoubtedly, the match against Al-Ahli will be extremely challenging. Al-Ahli stumbled in their first match and is looking to make up for it. At Al-Sadd, we will be fully focused in order to achieve our second victory.” ... 

Al-Sadd head coach Bruno Miguel highlighted the difficulty of the upcoming match against Al-Ahli in the second week of the 2023-2024 Expo Stars League.

Speaking during the pre-match press conference, Bruno said, “In the upcoming match, we aim to maintain the dynamism we displayed in the previous game. I think we played well in that match and achieved a good result.” ... 

Al-Sadd’s first team conducted its main training session on Thursday, in preparation for the upcoming clash against Al-Ahli in the second week of the Expo Stars League. The match is scheduled to take place on Saturday evening at Khalifa International Stadium.

Under the guidance of Portuguese head coach Pedro Miguel, the coaching staff worked on completing the training programme, with the objective of ensuring that the team attains the required physical condition necessary to sustain their journey in the league. ... 

The draw for the group stage of the AFC Champions League 2023-2024 took place on Thursday at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.

Al-Sadd have been drawn in Group B, alongside Uzbekistan’s Nasaf, UAE’s Sharjah, and Jordan’s Al-Faisaly.

This 21st edition of the tournament, under its new format, marks the shift from the spring season to autumn for the first time. It will now be held from autumn to spring, with the tournament dates spanning from September 2023 to May 2024. ... 

Al-Sadd’s Brazilian player Paulo Otavio emphasized the importance of the victory that Al-Sadd achieved in the first match of the league against Umm Salal with a score of 3-1.

Otavio stated after the match, “Winning the first match gives us a strong boost to continue our journey with great strength. We secured three important points at the beginning of the Expo Stars League.” ... 

Bruno Miguel, the coach of Al-Sadd’s team, expressed his happiness with the important 3-1 victory that Al-Sadd achieved against Umm Salal in the first week of the Expo Stars League.

In his statements to Al-Sadd’s website after the match, Bruno said, “We fully deserved the win. We had an excellent first half, played well, and the result shows it. We created many opportunities and could have scored more goals.” ... 

**Al-Sadd Clinches First Victory in Expo Stars League Season 2023-2024**

Al-Sadd secured their first win in the 2023-2024 Expo Stars League season, triumphing over Umm Salal by a 3-1 scoreline in the opening week. The match took place on Friday at Al-Bayt Stadium.

The goals for Al-Sadd were scored by Akram Afif in the 5th minute, Guilherme Torres in the 26th minute, and Yousuf Abdurisag in the 48th minute. Umm Salal managed to net a consolation goal through Andy Delort in the 86th minute. ... 

Al-Sadd head coach Bruno Miguel has confirmed the readiness of his team, ahead of the opening game of the 2023-24 Expo Stars League season.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Bruno said: “I am happy to be here at Al-Sadd for the beginning of the new season. I am happy with the structure at the club and the players of the team. We start this week against Umm Salal. We are expecting a tough match, especially as everything is new at the start of the season. Our objective is to win the match.” ... 

Al-Sadd CEO Turki Al-Ali hosted a dinner on Wednesday evening for the first-team players, coaches, and staff.

During the dinner, Al-Ali shared motivating words with the players, encouraging them as they approach the new season. He emphasized the importance of aiming for victories in every match and starting off strong in the league against Umm Salal on Friday. ...