Bounedjah hits brace as Al Sadd drub Al Duhail to lift 2020 Qatar Cup title
Man-of-the-match Baghdad Bounedjah grabbed a brace in between goals from Nam Tae-hee and Akram Afif as Al Sadd walloped Al Duhail 4-0 to lift the 2020 Qatar Cup title at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium yesterday.
Despite featuring the likes of Medhi Benatia and ex-Juventus and Croatian International Mario Manzukic in the Al Duhail line-up, Xavi Hernandez's team proved too strong for Rui Faria's men with three goals in the first half tilting the balance towards the Wolves.
Qatar Football Association President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al Thani crowned Al Sadd, the defending QSL league champions, in front of almost 12,000 spectators.
With the victory, Xavi made history as the first man to lift the Qatar Cup title both as a player and now as a manager. He was the captain when the 2011 Asian Champions hoist the trophy in 2017.
“I’m delighted with the victory and I’m particularly happy with the efforts of the team. The players showed determination and played cohesively. It is wonderful winning the Qatar Cup as a player and now as a manager. The win is for all our fans and everyone that has supported us all the way and we hope to continue to give them something to cheer about,” Xavi said.
Going into the match, the two teams had already faced off four times this season. The first of their double-leg AFC Champions League Round of 16 ended in a draw and Al Sadd beat Al Duhail in the second to progress to the quarterfinals on aggregate score.
Al Sadd overcame Al Duhail 1-0 in the one-off, season-opening Sheikh Jassim Cup (Super Cup) and when the last time Doha giants Al Sadd faced Al Duhail two months ago, the result was a 4-1 hammering for coach Xavi’s popular side with goals from Mohammed Muntari, Karim Boudiaf, Edmilson Junior and Almoez Ali putting Al Sadd to the sword.
Ahead of yesterday's clash, the fifth encounter between the two heavyweights in Qatari football this season, Xavi said his team was set for revenge after their devastating loss to the 'Red Knights' last November, and revenge they truly got yesterday.
Al Sadd was on the front foot right from the blast of the whistle as they took the battle to Al Duhail, the title winners in 2015 and 2018, end with their high pressing play.
Nam, who crossed from Al Duhail to Al Sadd at the beginning of this season, played spoilsport for his former employers as he opened scoring by nodding the ball home, beating Lecomte’s reflex, off a cross from Pedro Miguel from the right in the fifth minute.
After Al Duhail forward Ismail Mohamed limped off the field in the 16th minute with a muscle cramp and new North Korean recruit Han Kwang-Song replaced him, Al Sadd doubled the lead not before long as Bounedjah sent home a faulty clearance by Al Duhail goalkeeper Amine Lecomte after the latter dealt with a minus pass by central defender Mehdi Benatia following a through pass by Abdelkarim Hassan.
Bounedjah made it 3-0 with an angular shot that gave Lecomte no chance to even dive, with Nam doing the spadework with a touch pass.
Al Duhail’s unfruitful efforts in the first-half came through Almoez Ali who sent a rising shot straight to goalkeeper Saad Al Dossari.
The second half started with Ahmed Yasser replacing Yousef Msakni in the Al Duhail’s end but despite the change, the closest the team managed by Faria, who became coach of Al Duhail just over a year ago and won his first solo trophy as coach in May last year, got to scoring was when Han failed to connect a through pass by Almoez after the latter evaded a challenge from Abdelkarim Hassan before setting the stage in the 53rd minute.
At the other end, al-Haydos too missed on a couple of occasions, first sending his shot wide and then heading wide of the target. Meanwhile, Al Sadd made it 4-0, Akram converting a penalty awarded by referee Saoud Ali al-Athba after he was tripped by Mohamed Moosa.
Al Duhail had another chance as the game wore on, but another new signing Mario Mandzukic was way off the mark and Al Sadd cruised to an easy victory.
The 2020 Qatar Cup involved the top four teams - Al Sadd, Al Duhail, Al Sailiya, and Al Rayyan - at the end of the 2018-19 QNB Stars League season facing each other.
Al Sadd walloped Al Rayyan 4-1 to qualify for the final while Al Duhail defeated Al Sailiya 2-0 to book their ticket.
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