Al-Duhail achieved a landslide 5-0 victory over Al-Arabi in the match that brought together the two teams yesterday evening in the tenth round of the Iridan Stars League. Al-Duhail’s goals came from Hammam Al-Amin (two goals), Lucas Verissimo, Benjamin, and Luis Alberto in the 5th, 9th, 16th, 26th, and 65th minutes. The match witnessed the expulsion of Al-Arabi player Youssef Al-Masakni in the 84th minute, and his team completed the match with ten players.
With this victory, Al Duhail raised its score to 25 points, thus securing the title of winter champion even if it lost in the final round of the first division, four points behind runner-up Al Sadd (21 points). On the other hand, Al Arabi’s score froze at 10 points, making its position seriously decline and approaching the last positions.
Al-Duhail deserved to win, as they presented a distinguished performance that reflects their strength and preparation. On the other hand, Al-Arabi showed a disappointing level, especially on the defensive side, as it seemed submissive from the beginning of the match, which raised many questions about the state of the team.
The match went against expectations, as everyone expected Al Arabi to be a strong competitor, but the team collapsed early. Al-Duhail started scoring quickly in the fifth minute, when Hammam Al-Amin fired a missile shot that deceived goalkeeper Jassim Al-Hail and entered the net.
Al-Duhail continued to press and exploit the mistakes of Al-Arabi’s defense, with Lucas Verissimo scoring the second goal with a header in the 9th minute. Then Hammam Al-Amin added his second goal in the match and his team’s third in the 16th minute with another powerful shot. Before half-time, Benjamin increased the lead with a fourth goal in the 26th minute.
In the second half, the match turned into something similar to a training session for Al Duhail, as they added the fifth goal in the 65th minute through Luis Alberto. As for Al-Arabi, it tried to reduce the difference and improve its image, but the task was almost impossible, especially after the defensive substitutions made by the coach, as he introduced defender Wassim Qadri at the expense of striker Ahmed Alaa to try to fill the obvious defensive gaps.
Things got worse for Al Arabi when Youssef Msakni was sent off in the 84th minute, causing the team to lose all chances of returning to the match.
Al-Duhail proves once again that it is the most prominent team this season, while Al-Arabi needs a comprehensive re-evaluation to overcome its crises and move away from the danger zone in the ranking table.
