Al Sadd was crowned champion of the Qatar Stars League after its thrilling 3-2 victory over Al Shamal in the meeting that brought the two teams together this evening at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, within the twenty-second and final round of the competition.
With this crowning, Al Sadd retained the title for the third time in a row, extending its record by winning the championship for the nineteenth time in its history, after finishing the season in the lead with 45 points, five points ahead of second-placed North.
Al-Sadd entered the match strongly, imposing its control from the first minutes, as Qatari star Akram Afif opened the scoring in the 19th minute after a strong shot inside the net, before the team added the second goal quickly in the 22nd minute through Brazilian Claudinho, who passed the ball to his compatriot Roberto Firmino to find the net.
Al-Shamal tried to get back in the match, but faced a difficulty against Al-Sadd's defensive organization, which ended the first half with a two-goal lead without reply.
At the start of the second half, Al-Shamal received a painful blow after the expulsion of Algerian defender Abdelsamad Bonasser in the 50th minute, following a dangerous obstruction by Akram Afif, to complete the match with ten players.
Despite the numerical deficit, Al-Shamal succeeded in reducing the difference through Baghdad Bounedjah in the 65th minute after a quick counter-attack, before Al-Sadd responded quickly in the 67th minute with a third goal scored by Paolo Ottavio after a pass from Giovanni Henrique.
In the 85th minute, Al-Shamal got a penalty kick from which Jason Moreau scored the second goal, but the last minutes did not witness any change in the result, and the match ended with Al-Sadd winning and crowning it with the title in a strong and exciting season until the final round.
Pyramids crush Al Ahly and ignite the top clash in the Egyptian league
Pyramids achieved a great victory over Al-Ahly with three goals without reply, in the match that brought the two teams together within the fourth round of the decisive stage of the Egyptian Premier League, to ignite the competition for the championship title in the last meters.
Pyramids opened the scoring in the 71st minute, after a passing error by Al-Ahly defender Yasser Ibrahim, which was exploited by striker Feston Miele, who fired a ground shot that found the net of goalkeeper Mustafa Schubert.
Al-Ahly almost equalized the score quickly after four minutes, when he scored a goal through Achraf Ben Sharqi, who created a chance for Trezeguet inside the box, but the referee canceled the goal after returning to video technology due to offside.
Pyramids came back to extend their lead in the 78th minute, through a quick counter-attack led by Feston Miley from the middle of the field, before he singled out the goal and skillfully placed the ball over the keeper to score the second goal.
In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Karim Hafez concluded Pyramids' hat-trick from a penalty kick, confirming his team's superiority in the match.
With this result, Pyramids raised its score to 47 points in second place in the standings, while Al-Ahly's balance was frozen at 44 points in third place, which further intensifies the competition for the league title.
Pyramids is awaiting the results of the rest of the competitors, especially Al-Ahly's upcoming match against Zamalek on Friday, which may play a decisive role in determining the features of the league champion this season.