It was not an easy debut at Al-Arabi for Marco Verratti, whose blood was drawn as he suffered defeat in his first outing in Qatar.
The 30-year-old Italian midfielder left Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month for the Qatari side, ending an 11-year stay in the French capital. Transferring for €45m to Al-Arabi, he was one of the few to head to Qatar instead of Saudi Arabia in the summer.
Verratti made over 416 appearances for PSG across his decade-long spell with the club, and his move to Al-Arabi frustrated Italian supporters, who were hoping to finally see the talented midfielder in Serie A.
The 30-year-old started the match at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium and suffered a painful injury in the first half after a shocking challenge from Abdulaziz Hatem, who was not punished for his high boot. Later in the match, the Al-Rayyan midfielder was shown a red card for another poor foul.
Despite the facial injury, Verratti continued to play and saw out the entire 90 minutes, unable to help his side avoid defeat on his debut.