DOHA: Lekhwiya stayed seven points clear at the top of the Qatar Stars League (QSL) with a commanding 3-1 win over Al Ahli yesterday, while defending champions Al Sadd saw their slim chances of winning the title take a further beating after an insipid 1-1 draw with Al Arabi.

Three first half strikes from Vladimir Weiss, Ali Hassan Afeef and Sebastian Soria gave the two-time champions Lekhwiya a 3-0 lead before forward Dioko Kaluyituka pulled one back for Al Ahli midway through the second half. Lekhwiya asserted themselves very early in the match by putting the Al Ahli goal under tremendous pressure, but had to wait until the 16th minute to score, Weiss slamming home a powerful shot from inside the penalty area after receiving a pass from Yousuf Mskani. Soria then got himself on the score sheet in the 20th minute with a perfect lob from a tight angle after Afeef had threaded a pass to him. The Al Ahli goal fell for the third time when the defence allowed Afeef lots of space and the midfielder easily slotted the ball home from the top of the box. Al Sadd took the lead in the 70th minute through Khalfan Ibrahim, who was assisted by Rodrigo Tabata, but allowed Al Arabi to clinch a draw when powerful striker Wanderly connected with a well-timed slide following a pass from midfielder Abdulaziz Hatim. Al Sadd are in third place behind El Jaish on 38 points from 22 matches and will require other results to go their way if they are to win their 14th league title. In another match yesterday, Al Rayyan thrashed Qatar Sports Club 3-0. Nigerian striker Kalu Uche scored a second-half brace after Tahir Zakaria had put the Lions ahead in the 26th minute. Al Rayyan were touted as title favourites when the season began but failed to live up to their promise, suffering nine defeats in their 22 matches. They languish in 11th place after scoring only their sixth win yesterday.