The Round 8 of QNB Stars League, resumed after a fortnight-long international break, was unique in more ways than one. The outstanding feature among them was the number of goals scored (30), the most for any round this season. The previous record was 26 in the fourth round.

Following packed action on Saturday and Sunday, Al Duhail stayed right on top with 22 points and continued their scoring spree as they fired in eight goals against Al Kharaitiyat’s two. Al Sadd and Al Rayyan, who occupy the next two positions, did not lag behind. The Wolves defeated Umm Salal 4-1 and The Lions got the better of Al Arabi by a 4-2 margin.

In other fixtures, Al Sailiya prevailed over Al Gharafa 3-2, Al Ahli defeated Al Markhiya 1-0 and Al Khor beat Qatar SC 2-1. There was not a drawn encounter.

Al Duhail have now scored 33 goals, way ahead of Al Rayyan and Al Sailiya (both 23), and Al Sadd (21).

Moroccan star Youssef El Arabi contributed a hat-trick and captain Youssef Msakni a brace to Al Duhail’s spectacular show. South Korean midfielder Nam Tae-Hee also netted a double.

El Arabi thus consolidated his position atop the top-scorers’ chart with 14 goals, while Msakni has eight against his name.

Al Rayyan were always in control in their derby with Al Arabi, as the scoreline suggests, but that was not enough for them to remain in the second position as Al Sadd too did well against Umm Salal.

Much was expected from Al Arabi, under new coach Luka Bonacic from Croatia, but they played second fiddle to a marauding Al Rayyan.

When Umm Salal’s famed defence fell flat, Al Sadd scored four goals to have a better goal difference (+12) than Al Rayyan (+11). Both are tied on 21 points.

Rachid Tiberkanine’s two goals proved to be a losing cause for Al Kharaitiyat. So did defender Saad Natiq’s two-goal effort for Al Arabi.

Al Sailiya continued their winning run and stayed fourth in the standings with 18 points, with Temurkhuja Abdukholiqov again coming good and Nadir Belhadj faring well against Al Gharafa. In the process, Temurkhuja took his tally to seven goals.  

Al Khor made much ground with their victory over Qatar SC, who stayed rooted to the bottom. The Knights jumped from 11th to eight place in their first match under Tunisian coach Nassif Al Bayawi. They have seven points, the same as Al Gharafa but behind on goal difference.

Al Ahli too benefited from their victory over promoted Al Markhiya as they moved from eighth to sixth in the table with eight points, while Al Kharaitiyat (six) slipped from seventh to ninth and Al Gharafa (seven) from sixth to seventh.

Al Arabi and Al Markhiya too fell by one place as they both remained on five points.