They are ahead of Al Sadd by just two points but with both teams favoured to win against minor opposition in the final two matches, Lekhwiya are now clear favourites for the title, unless, of course, there is an upset.
Lekhwiya continued to pile on the pressure from the off, which eventually paid off on the 29th minute when they were awarded a penalty after Jaish’s goalkeeper clumsily brought down Almoez Ali who was running into the box to connect with a chipped through ball.
The referee was quick to blow for a whistle and Lekhwiya’s captain, Mohamed Musa, stepped up and smashed it down the middle of the goal to give the Red Knights the lead.
Things went from bad to worse for Jaish who lost possession from kick-off and gifted Lekhwiya a second after some poor defending. After a number of lazy and ill-advised back passes, Lekhwiya pressured and dispossessed a lacklustre looking Jaish defence which enabled South Korean international Nam Tae-hee to pick the ball up in the 18 yard box and hit a low hard shot to make it 2-0 and take his individual tally to 13.
It didn’t take long for Lekhwiya to find the back of the net in the second half and make it 3-0 to all but secure the three points and keep them top of the table. Ali Afif found himself in space in the 18 yard box after just a minute of play in the second half and able to easily hit a low shot home on his right following some scrappy defending from Jaish.
Jaish hit one back just a minute later after a goal from their Brazilian forward, Romarinho, a fine strike which would end up being just a consolation goal. Just moments later, Lekhwiya finished off the tie when Edgar made it 4-1 with a fine finish on the inside of his right from 16 yards out.
Lekhwiya weren’t finished with four though and made it five in injury time when Moez headed home a rebounded corner kick after some more scrappy defending from Jaish.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd kept the pressure on league leaders Lekhwiya with a comprehensive 4-1 Qatar Clasico win over Al Rayyan. Michael Laudrup’s side saw midfielder Daniel Goumou sent off midway through the first half, and Al Sadd made their advantage count scoring three goals in what proved to be a comfortable victory for the side.
The Wolves broke the deadlock on the 12th minute though midfielder Jugurtha Hamroun who smashed the ball from outside of the box to beat Rayyan keeper Omar Barry and give Sadd a early lead in the 12th minute.
Two minutes later Jugurtha Hamroun was on the other end of a similar chance from closer range but the summer signing spurned his effort well over.
Omar Barry kept Al Rayyan in the tie with an instinctive save to deny a snap header from leading scorer Baghdad Bounedjah in the 33rd minute. The game tilted in Sadd’s favour when midfielder Daniel Goumou saw red for a second yellow after a reckless elbow on Hassan Haydoos.
Sadd didn’t waste any time in pressing home their advantage. Defender Pedro Miguel made a surging run which saw the Qatari international brought down in the box, leaving the referee little choice but to award a penalty. Leading scorer Bounedjah made no mistake from the penalty spot, calmly slotting the ball down the middle of the goal.
On the stroke of half time Al Sadd scored a third through Iranian international Morteza Pouraliganji. who planted a fine header into the bottom right hand corner.
Al Sadd didn’t let up and scored the fourth goal of the tie through Abdulkarim Hassan in the 51st minute. Xavi picked out the Qatari international defender, who hit his shot past Omar Barry who should of done better to stop the ball.
The 10 men of Al Rayyan valiantly tried to get back into the game, and Rodrigo Tabata did grab a consolation with five minutes left to play.
Earlier, Al Gharafa ‘s top-4 hopes suffered a fatal blow when they were beaten 2-0 by Umm Salal.
