Al Duhail maintained the lead with 42 points in the QNB Stars League, with a postponed match remaining against Al Rayyan, followed by Al Arabi in second place (40 points) and reigning champions Al Sadd (35 points).
Al Duhail managed to win their match against Al Sailiya, and their goals were scored by Ferjani Sassi, Michael Olonga and Almoez Ali.
Al Arabi moved on to 40 points, two less than leaders Al Duhail, in the second place from 18 games.
Umm Salal remained on 13 points from 18 matches.
The two teams had met recently in the semifinal of Ooredoo Cup and Umm Salal rallied to bounce back from being a goal down to win 2-1.
The first-leg clash between Al Arabi and Umm Salal had ended in a 1-1 draw in Week 7.
This time around, both teams entered the match with a strong desire to win the three points and the start was exciting, with Al Arabi calling the shots.
Al Gharafa were one of the biggest beneficiaries from this round as they stormed back into the top four with 29 points following their victory over Al Markhiya. The win saw Al Gharafa move on to 29 points from 18 matches, while Al Markhiya stood on 18 points from 17 games.
Al Wakrah slipped to fifth with 27 points after losing to Al Sadd. Qatar SC are sixth with 26 points.
Al Ahli remained in seventh place with 21 points after suffering its third successive loss and Al Markhiya stood eighth with 18 points.
Al Shamal climbed from 10th to ninth with 17 points after their win over Al Ahli, while Al Rayyan, which did not play in this round, fell to 10th place with 16 points.
Umm Salal stood 11th place with 13 points and Al Sailiya remained at the bottom with nine points.
Al Sadd's win over Al Wakrah helped them maintain their hopes of competing for the title. Their goals were scored by El Kaabi (double) and Akram Afif (double). Al Wakrah's goals were scored by Australian defender Trent Sainsbury and Jacinto Dala.
Sergio Carlos scored Al Sailiya's goal.
Al Gharafa's winner against Al Markhiya was scored by Ahmed Alaaeldin.
Al Shamal rode on Amjad Attwan's goal to beat Al Ahli.
In the last match, Al Arabi were helped by Al Somah's twin strike against Umm Salal.
A total of 14 goals were scored with an average of 2.8 per game.
The Al Sadd vs Al Wakrah match was the highest-scoring, and Al Shamal, Al Gharafa and Al Arabi kept clean sheets.
The round witnessed the expulsion of two players - Hussein Kanaani of Al Ahli and Ayoub Azzi of Al Markhiya.
Three players scored two goals each - Al Sadd's Ayoub El Kaabi and Akram Afif, and Al Arabi's Omar Al Somah.
Olunga continued to lead the scorers' list with 14 goals, followed by Dala and Al Somah (13 goals each). (QNA)
Source: Qatar News Agency