Al-Sadd suffered a 2-0 defeat against Al-Duhail in the final of the Qatar Cup 2023, which took place on Thursday at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
Al-Sadd started the match strongly, putting great pressure on Al-Duhail’s defense. In the fourth minute, Ayoub Al-Kaabi almost scored the first goal for Al-Sadd, but his header was saved by Al-Duhail’s goalkeeper.
The match continued with a back-and-forth between the two teams. Al-Sadd tried to penetrate from the depth and sides, particularly through their quartet of Akram Afif, Al-Haydos, Baghdad Bounedjah, and Ayoub El-Kaabi. In the 24th minute, Ayoub El-Kaabi met Guilherme’s cross, but his header went over the crossbar of Al-Duhail.
Al-Duhail scored the first goal in the 48th minute through Michael Olunga, after Ferjani Sassi penetrated from the right side and played a cross, allowing Olunga to finish without being marked.
In the 54th minute, Al-Duhail added their second goal after a cross by Al-Moez Ali from the right side bounced off the Al-Sadd goalkeeper. Sassi completed the rebound, scoring the second goal for his team.
Al-Sadd’s players pressed hard to reduce the difference, and Baghdad Bounedjah almost scored the first goal for Al-Sadd in the 70th minute. However, his header was pushed away by goalkeeper Salah Zakaria, and the attempts continued. The match ended with Al-Duhail winning by two goals without a response.
