Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga scored four goals to secure Al Duhail’s first Qatar QNB Stars League title in three years.
Olunga’s impressive performance in their final fixture against relegation-threatened Al Shamal helped the Red Knights win their eighth title.
They dominated from the start and went ahead in the seventh minute when Almoez Ali scored the first goal.
Olunga then took over as he scored a quick hat-trick in the 21st, 32nd, and 35th minute, bringing the scoreline to 4-0 at halftime.
Al Shamal reduced the deficit three minutes into the second half after Argentine Matias Nani converted a penalty, but Olunga restored the four-goal advantage four minutes later, ending the season with 22 goals and winning the Mansour Muftah Award for Top Scorer.
Duhail finished on 51 points, two ahead of Al Arabi, who beat two-time defending champions Al Sadd 2-1 on the same day
Duhail had just needed to draw their final fixture in front of their fans at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium for their eighth title.
Duhail coach Hernan Crespo expressed his delight after the game.
“Qatar is a lucky country for us Argentineans, my country won the World Cup here and now as an Argentine, I have three trophies in my first season, which is amazing.” he said.
Crespo has led Duhail to a title in his first year at the helm.
Shamal will go into a playoff match against Second Division runners-up Al Khor to stay in the top-flight, while Al Sailiya finished bottom of the 12-team league and were relegated from the league after losing 0-1 to Al Wakrah, who finished in fourth place to seal a spot in next season’s Qatar Cup.
Second Division champions Muaither SC have been promoted to next season’s QNB Stars League.
