DOHA (Qatar): Paulo Edmilson Junior scored a hat-trick in his four-goal show as reigning champions Al Duhail thrashed Al Wakrah 8-1 in the Qatar Stars League at their home ground on Friday.
In other games, Al Arabi continued their excellent form by defeating Al Ahli 1-0 while Umm Salal beat Al Khor 1-0.
Junior found the targets in second, 10th, 16th and 19th minutes respectively while Eduardo Rodriguez (Dudu) also got a hat-trick fired (third, ninth and 71st-minute penalty) and Almoez Ali (70th minute) added another as The Red Knights moved on to 27 points (nine wins and four defeats) with their ninth victory.
Mohamed Benyettou scored the only goal for Al Wakrah in the 45+1 minute as The Blue Wave remained on 13 points after suffering their eighth defeat.
Al Duhail are very much on the recovery path following a slump in form that saw them occupy a place outside the top four. The Red Knights have now won their last five matches, but they are still eight points adrift of leaders Al Sadd, who blanked Al Kharaitiyat 8-0 on Thursday.
In hindsight, individual brilliance of Edmilson and Dudu put Al Duhail in the driver’s seat as they stayed on course to retain the coveted league shield, afterb suffering initial hiccups.
Al Duhail reaped the rewards of having begun the game in excellent fashion. Sabri Lamouchi’s men were up by four goals inside 10 minutes and they built on the brilliant start to script a big-margin victory.
Al Duhail dominated their rivals right throughout and Benyettou’s goal was the only reply they could give to their marauding opponents.
It may be recalled that Al Wakrah had beaten Al Duhail 1-0 in the first leg.
