(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Chinthana Wasala |
The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: The 2023-2024 expo Stars League (ESL) season continued its thrilling run with action-packed matches over the weekend which saw Al Rayyan solidifying their staat the top of the standings.
After becoming the only team to win all of their three fixtures in the new season, Al Rayyan lead the standings with nine points, while Al Gharafa, defending champions Al Duhail and Al Sadd closely follow in the second, third and fourth positions with seven points each.
Their latest win on Saturday came at Al Bayt Stadium when the Leonardo Jardim-coached men withstood a gutsy Al Shamal team in a seven goal thriller.
The 4-3 victory was powered by new signing Roger Guedes' two goals in the 17th and 75th minutes, alongside strikes from Khalid Ali Sabah (42nd) and Ahmed Husham Al Rawi (67th). Ricardo Gomes (8th and 83rd) and Matias Nani (80th) scored for Al shamal, who showed remarkable progress following a 11th place finish last season.
Following their victoristart in the first stage of the League, coach Jardim expressed his immense satisfaction with the team's performance.
Jardim, who replaced Nicolas Cordova who departed the club in May, highlighted three crucial stages of Saturday's win. He noted that the first phase, the initial 10 minutes, saw the team struggling to find their rhythm and conceding a goal from a long-range shot.
Jardim said that the second phase, following the early setback, showcased the team's prowess, as they made a remarkable comeback, scoring two goals before the first half concluded. This impressive form continued into the second half, where they added two more goals to secure a commanding 4-1 lead over Al Shamal.
Jardim noted that the third and final phase saw their opponents managing to exploit some lapses in concentration from Al Rayyan, resulting in two goals against them. Despite that, Jardim emphasised that the victory ultimately belonged to the team that had played the best overall match, which was undoubtedly Al Rayyan.
Looking ahead, Jardim expressed his hope that the team would maintain its winning streak in the ESL, and he encourage the players to continue their development from one match to the next.
Al Rayyan's striker Ahmed Al Rawi was also delighted with the victory.
“Despite initially trailing by a goal, we managed to bounce back and secure a four-goal lead,” said Al Rawi, who acknowledged Al Rayyan's supporters, referring to them as the driving force behind the team's excellent performance in the early matches.