Al Rayyan hit the ground running against Al Sailiya

Doha: Al Rayyan returned to the Qatar Stars League (QSL) with a vengeance as flurry of goals and big crowd turnout welcomed the new season yesterday.
The football giants couldn’t asked for a better return after missing the last edition as they scored two goals in each session to thrash Al Sailiya 4-0 following a commanding display in the opening match of the lucrative league at Al Sadd Stadium.
The victory also marked a new record for veteran striker Sebatian Soria who scored his 160th QSL  goal to set a new record in the league. 
The 31-year old Uruguayan scored in the 33rd minute what was the second goal of the game for the former champions. 
Backed by avid fans who turned out in numbers to watch their team’s eagerly-awaited return to the league, Al Rayyan started aggressively and took Al Sailiya under pressure right from the start. 
Their repeated attacks paid dividend when Victor Javier Caceres found the target in the 17th minute. 
Al Sailya, trailing by two goals, attempted to reduce the lead but Al Rayyan showed equally impressive skills in the defence to restrict their opponents.
The second session wasn’t different as Al Rayyan continued to dominate the proceedings. 
Al Sailiya suffered a setback in the 62th minute when new signing Dragos Grigore was sent off after a second yellow card. Al Rayyan’s third goal came through captain fearful striker Rodrigo Tabata while Mohamed Salah Elneel scored in the stoppage time (92) to seal the 4-0 win. 
Also yesterday, Umm Salal started their new QSL season on a high note, easily beating hosts Al Khor 2-0 at their own backyard. 
Today, Al Khairatiyat will meet Qatar SC while Al Arabi will host Al Arabi in the other match of the day.  “We prepared this game well. We have been preparing for a long time,” said Al Arabi’s coach Gianfranco Zola ahead of his team’s opening match. “Step by step we have tried to build the team to be ready for this game. I am very satisfied with the players and with what they have done so far,” he said. 
“The team is not fully ready as very few teams are ready in the start.”THE PENINSULA