Head coach Xavi Hernandez hailed Al Sadd’s 7-0 rout of Al Khor, saying the huge winning margins this season is because of how strong their teams is. After their victory at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Wednesday, Al Sadd extended their lead on top to 13 points over second-placed reigning champions Al Duhail. 
Rodrigo Tabata scored a hat-trick, while Baghdad Bounedjah netted a double. Santiago Cazorla and Ali Asad were the other scorers as unbeaten Al Sadd notched up their 13th victory to be on 41 points.
“We study each team separately and before every match we have a big job to do. We have won by huge scores because we are strong and not because the opponents are weak. We fully deserve all these victories,” said Xavi after the match.
“I am delighted for all the players. We have taken a new step towards winning the league title, and now we have a 13-point lead. We must continue to work in the same way until we achieve our goal, and I am proud of the team and the performance,” the Wolves coach added
Xavi was also pleased with performances of non-regular players. “I am happy with the win and the performance. We played a new kind of match, in terms of the magnificence of the performance, and I am happy with the players who had not played much before, including Ahmed Suhail, Musaab Khidir, Salem al-Hajri and Tabata, who were more than excellent and deserve to be praised with the rest of the players. We are living through the best moments of the season and we must benefit a lot from this,” the Spaniard said. 
Meanwhile, Al Sadd defender Ahmed Suhail attributed his side’s 7-0 victory over Al Khor to the respect they gave to the opponents, and added that the competition was not over yet. “We went into the match with the aim of winning and extending our lead, and we put pressure on the Al Khor goal and got a good result in the first half by scoring four goals,” he said.
“The big result is because we respected the Al Khor team and converted our chances into goals. Our performance as a group remains the secret of Al Sadd’s strength in all the league matches. We have not clinched the league title yet, and we will continue to perform in the same way in the next matches; the campaign is not over yet,” Ahmed added.
Meanwhile, Al Duhail’s campaign to retain the league shield suffered another blow after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Qatar SC. Al Duhail stood second with 28 points, while Qatar SC slipped from fourth to fifth place with 24 points. In fact, that was the only change in the ranking table as Al Rayyan and Qatar SC swapped positions.
Al Gharafa moved on to 27 points following their 2-1 win over Al Kharaitiyat, with captain Moiad Hassan scoring two quick goals to give his side their eighth win. Mensah Evans had put Al Kharaitiyat ahead.
Al Gharafa stood third, but Al Kharaitiyat’s misery worsened as they are still the basement side with six points. Umm Salal and Al Arabi played out a goalless draw to remain in the ninth and seventh spot with 15 and 20 points respectively. 
The QNB Stars League will now take a break and Week 16 fixtures have been scheduled for 13th and 14th February.