(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Fawad Hussain | The Peninsula
Arch-rivals Al Sadd and Al Duhail will face off in the final of Qatar Cup a rematch of last year's edition after both the Qatari football giants won their respective semi-finals, yesterday. Seven-time champions Al Sadd edged Al Rayyan 1-0 in a thrilling first semi-final before Al Duhail dispatched Al Gharafa 2-1 following a feisty clash at Al Duhail Stadium. Al Sadd thrashed Al Duhail 4-0 in the 2020 edition final. Yesterday, Xavi Hernandezcoached booked their spot in the title clash with a second-half penalty over traditional rivals Al Rayyan, following an action-packed first semi-final at Al Duhail Stadium. Santiago Cazorla produced the game-winning goal in (84th minute) with a clinical spot-kick. 'We are happy to reach the final as the match was very difficult. Al Rayyan showed a strong performance but we were not at our best, Xavi said yesterday after the win. 'Our aim is to win this title but we will shift focus back to our next QSL game, he added. As expected, the match got off to a fast start with both the Qatari football giants exchanging attacks, looking to take early control of the match.
Al Sadd's Cazorla produced a low free-kick that hit the goalpost to the left of Al Rayyan keeper Soud Abdulla Al Hajri as The Wolves looked a better side, making fiery attacks. Among the attempts was Baghdad Bounedjah's strike which hit the crossbar after a sharp cross from Afif in the 36th minute.
The thrilling action continued in the second session but Al Sadd still held an upper hand with their threatening moves. Al Rayyan also made some attacks and once they seemingly broke the deadlock when Shojae Khalilzadeh headed home off a free-kick but the linesman called it an offside move. In the 79th minute, drama unfolded when Shojae Khalilzadeh could not avoid a handball infringement while chasing Bounedjah inside his own box.
The play was stopped and it took more than 4 minutes to get a VAR call on a penalty decision that turned in favour of Al Sadd. In the 83rd minute, Cazorla smashed the ball into the centre of the net with Al Rayyan keeper Al Hajri diving to his left, sealing the win for Wolves. 'Despite the loss, I am satisfied with the performance. Al Rayyan played well throughout the match, Al Rayyan coach Laurent Blanc said after the loss. 'I am happy with the performance as we were against a top side who are in a very good form, he added. Al Duhail edge Al Gharafa The second semi-final also saw a pulsating battle as Al Duhail rallied from a goal down to edge Al Gharafa. Al Gharafa took the lead in 20th minute when Othman Alawi Alyahri took them ahead before goals from Ali Nozar Karimi (36th minute) and Sultan Hussain Al-Brake (72nd minute) took The Red Knights into the final.
Al Gharafa started the match well and created some good chances in the start as Al Duhail took time to take control of the proceedings. After early attacks, Al Gharafa took lead when Karimi tried to block an attempt from Alyahri but the ball deflected inside the goal with Al Duhail goalkeeper Salah Zakaria having no chance.
Al Duhail struck back as Karimi rectified his mistake by finding the equaliser with a header from a close range. The Red Knights dominated the second half and got a goal when Al-Brake fired a powerful shot inside the goal, sealing final against Al Sadd. The title clash between the two arch-rivals will be played on February 26 at Al Duhail Stadium, with kick off set for 4:45pm.
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