A late equaliser saved 11-time Qatar League champions Al Sadd from their first defeat this season as they shared a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Al Khraitiat.

Al Sadd needed a goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time to get away with a point which kept them at the top of the standings, although they could lose their place if defending champions Al Gharafa beat Al Arabi tomorrow.

Al Sadd should have taken an early lead on the night when they were rewarded a spot-kick after only three minutes, but their Brazilian striker Leandro da Silva saw his shot saved by Al Khraitiat goalkeeper Abubakr Khalifa.

After a scoreless first half, Al Khraitiat stunned their hosts six minutes after the hour, as Iraqi striker Alaa Abdulzahra headed home a cross from Naif Al Khater.

However, Leandro made up for his earlier miss as he scored the leveller in the fourth minute of stoppage time when Khalifa dropped a cross from Mesaad Al Hamad at the feet of the Brazilian striker.

Elsewhere, Qatar SC went third with a 1-0 win against Al Wakra.

Striker Yousef Ahmed converted a cross from Khalid Zakiba to score the only goal after 59 minutes.