Former Qatar Stars League (QSL) champions Lekhwiya yesterday swept past Al Sailiyah, registering an impressive 3-0 win on home soil.
Goals by Karim Boudiaf (38) and Yousef Al Arabi (55 and 79) powered Lekhwiya to a one-sided win, their 6th of the season that is now into its fourth month.
After a slow start, the 9th round clash kicked into top gear when Lekhwiya's Al Arabi unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the box in the 5th minute but Al Sailiyah goalkeeper Gregory Gomis pouched the ball with an alert move.
In the 27th minute, Boudiaf produced a neat lob shot from the edge of the box for his side's first goal.
The ball sailed above goalkeeper Gomis' head and crashed into the right hand side of the net as Lekhwiya players - coached by Djamel Belmadi - celebrated the goal in emphatic fashion.
In the last minute before the first-half whistle, Lekhwiya's Al Arabi slipped in a neat ball for Korean striker Nam-Tai hee but Al Sailiyah's Cameroonian import Raoul Loe put in a timely dive to thwart the danger.
After a lackluster play for about 10 minutes early in the second half, Lekhwiya striker Al Arabi surprised a pack of three defenders by firing a curling shot into the Al Sailiyah net.
Marked by Paul Efoulou, Mubark Eid and Dragos Grigore near the Al Sailiyah box, Al Arabi paused for a fraction of a second before producing a swinging shot above the head of goalkeeper Gomis for his side's second goal in the 55th minute.
Eight minutes later, Al Sailiyah nearly scored but for Khalid Muftah's quick clearance near the goal-line. Efoulou chipped in a ball for Rajab stationed near the Lekhwiya's goal-line.
Midfielder Muftah quickly moved in and cleared the ball before Rajab could get close to taking a shot with Lekhwiya goalkeeper Claude Amin embarrassingly out of position.
In the 68th minute, Lekhwiya skipper Boudiaf went for a long-range missile towards the Al Sailiyah goal but 'keeper Gomis produced an acrobatic save, tipping the ball over the crossbar with an airborne right-handed flick.
In the 79th minute, Al Arabi fired his second goal to power his side team to three points.
Later, at Al Wakrah Stadium, the third match of the day between Al Arabi and Al Wakrah was ended in a 2-2 stalemate.
