DOHA (Qatar): The 2019-20 season Qatar Stars League has gone down to the wire with just a point separating table-topper Al Duhail and second-placed Al Rayyan.
Duhail and Rayyan emerged as the only contenders for the championship with victories over Al Khor and Al Shahania respectively last week while reigning champions Al Sadd went out of contention despite beating Qatar SC with a last-gasp goal scored by Baghdad Bounedjah.
It was Al Duhail’s 15th victory, the most by any team, and Al Rayyan’s 14th.
A notable feature was the presence of fans at the venues following the decision of Qatar Stars League, in co-operation with the authorities concerned, to issue a limited number of tickets for each match, as per the precautionary measures related to coronavirus.
Al Duhail have 49 points while Al Rayyan are on 48 as Al Sadd (44 points) have to be content with a third place.
Similarly, the battle to avoid relegation and play-off also hotted up between ninth-placed Qatar SC (19 points), Umm Salal (17), Al Khor (16) and Al Shahania (15), after all of them lost.
Umm Salal were beaten by Al Gharafa, who were assured of a fourth-place finish after Week 20 as they had taken an unassailable lead for that position over nearest competitors.
Al Gharafa now have 35 points.
Al Sailiya and Al Wakrah earned promotions in the table, which had remained unchanged ever since the QNB Stars League resumed after a long break with Week 18 action.
Al Sailiya (28 points) moved from sixth to fifth position after defeating Al Arabi (25 points) in a much-awaited encounter. Both teams had the same number of points, but Al Arabi were placed higher on goal difference, going into the match.
Similarly, Al Wakrah (27 points) climbed from seventh to sixth spot following their victory over Al Ahli (20 points).
Al Arabi slipped to seventh place, while Al Ahli remained eighth in the standings.
