Al-Sadd recorded a big 4-0 victory over Al-Shamal in the Expo Stars League Round 10 clash, which was played on Friday at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
Gonzalo Plata scored twice (39′, 62′), while Akram Afif (58′) and Baghdad Bounedjah (86′) also got on the scoresheet. Al-Shamal had defender Jassim Ali sent off in the 52nd minute.
The match began with a high level of intensity from Al-Sadd, displaying early control over the game. Yousuf Abdurisag had the ball in the net twice in the first half, but the efforts were disallowed for offside following VAR reviews.
Despite the disallowed goals, Al-Sadd maintained their dominance throughout the first half. Gonzalo Plata then finally broke the deadlock in the 39th minute, sliding in to put the final touch on Akram Afif’s shot from the left side.
The second half witnessed a turning point when Al-Shamal’s defender, Jassim Ali, was shown a red card in the 52nd minute for a foul on Akram, leaving his team with ten players.
Al-Sadd extended their lead in the 58th minute with a goal from the penalty spot, nicely converted by Akram after Mustafa Tarek was fouled by Al-Shamal’s defense in the box.
Exploiting their numerical advantage, Al-Sadd continued to dominate. Plata added his second goal in the 62nd minute with a well-placed shot from inside the penalty area. The final goal came in the 86th minute, as substitute Baghdad Bounedjah scored with a header.
With this victory, Al-Sadd returned to the top of the league table, reaching 22 points from eight games, with two postponed fixtures yet to be played.
