Doha: Al Duhail defeated Al Shamal 2-0 on Saturday at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Week 8 match of the 2025-2026 Doha Bank Stars League.
According to Qatar News Agency, this was Al Shamal's first loss after achieving four wins and two draws, leaving them frozen at 14 points and dropping from the top to 3rd place, while Al Duhail raised their tally to 11 points, moving temporarily into 4th place. Al Duhail's goals were scored by Polish striker Krzysztof Piatek in the 26th minute and Tahsin Mohammed in the 41st minute, while Frenchman Benjamin Bourigeaud missed a penalty in the 88th minute.
From the start, Al Duhail took the initiative offensively and began threatening Al Shamal's goal post with a shot by Edmilson Junior that went just wide in the 7th minute. Piatek later attempted a header that went over the crossbar in the 16th minute. Al Shamal retreated defensively under Al Duhail's pressure and failed to create any real danger, especially with Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah remaining on the bench.
Al Duhail continued pressing until opening the scoring after a well-coordinated move initiated by Homam Al Amin, who passed the ball to Italian midfielder Marco Verratti. Verratti then set it up for Piatek, who kicked it into the net in the 26th minute to make it 1-0. Karim Boudiaf came close to adding a second goal with a header from a corner that was saved by the goalkeeper in the 32nd minute. Moments later, he met a cross from Edmilson with another powerful header, but the keeper again managed to deny him in the 38th minute.
Al Duhail's pressure paid off with a second goal when Piatek redirected a corner toward Tahsin Mohammed in front of goal, and he calmly placed it into the net in the 41st minute. Al Shamal tried to respond after falling two goals behind, and Iranian midfielder Omid Ebrahimi nearly reduced the deficit with a strong shot from a Mohamed Omar cross that went just wide in the 44th minute, ending the first half with Al Duhail leading 2-0.
At the start of the second half, Al Shamal pressed hard and missed several chances to close the gap. Substitute Baghdad Bounedjah fired a powerful shot from inside the area, but was saved by the goalkeeper in the 50th minute. Then, Mohamed Omar's header from a Mouafak Awad cross struck the post in the 55th minute. Al Shamal kept pushing forward, Bounedjah missed another header wide in the 65th minute, and Tunisian Naim Sliti sent a shot past the post in the 72nd minute.
Al Duhail, under heavy pressure, dropped back to defend and relied on counterattacks, one of which almost resulted in a third goal when Piatek set up Spanish midfielder Luis Alberto, whose fierce shot was blocked by the defense in the 75th minute. Another counterattack saw Homam Al Amin go one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but his low shot was pushed out for a corner in the 82nd minute. Moments later, Al Duhail earned a penalty after substitute Algerian Adil Boulbina was fouled by his compatriot Abdessamed Bounacer, Al Shamal's defender. Benjamin Bourigeaud took the penalty, but goalkeeper Babacar Seck brilliantly saved it in the 88th minute.
The final minutes passed without further change, and Al Duhail secured a valuable 2-0 victory, handing Al Shamal their first defeat of the league season.