The 2025-2026 season of the Doha Bank Stars League started with much excitement as Al Rayyan successfully claimed victory against Al Sailiya 3-1 at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on Thursday.

Al Sailiya stunned the crowd early on as Hadi Ali scored the first goal of the season in the 20th minute. Al Rayyan pushed back quickly and had a penalty shout waved off just minutes later, keeping the tension high.

It took until the 68th minute for Al Rayyan to break through, with Julien de Sart smashing in a long-range equaliser. From there, it was Roger Guedes’ show. He calmly slotted home a penalty in the 82nd minute, then wrapped up the win in stoppage time after capitalising on a defensive slip — earning himself the Man of the Match award.

The result is a statement of intent from Artur Jorge’s men as they aim to better last season’s fifth-place finish. For Al Sailiya, it was a tough return to the top flight, but there were still positives to take forward.

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