Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez spoke of his satisfaction with the point his team gained from the 1-1 draw against Al-Nassr on Matchday 5 of the AFC Champions League group stage, adding that the team displayed “two faces during the two halves” of the game.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Xavi said: “It was a tough game. We were not good enough in the first half, and in the second half we were better.”
“We had to play in the first half, like we did in the second. Today, we showed two faces of the team in the two halves. I’m angry with the first half, and happy with the second.”
He added: “We have to change and improve our performance, but we are satisfied with the point. We played against a strong team, which is one of the best in the competition.”
Asked about what he told the players at halftime, the coach said: “I have to be honest, I told the players that we had to change our values: the rhythm, and the mentality, and this happened in the second half. We scored the goal and we got a good point against a strong team.”
With regards to the team’s defensive perfomance, Xavi said: “I don’t think that we have a problem with the defence. We just conceded one goal in two games. We have other problems. In the first half, we had problems with our attitude, intensity and rhythm.”
As for his team’s chances of competing for the title, Xavi said: “It’s too early to talk about competing for the title. First, we have to qualify (for the next stage). We still haven’t qualified. It needs one more game, and it also depends on the result of the other game (Sepahan – Al Ain).”
“We have to go step by step; otherwise, we will make a mistake. It’s very difficult to win the competition, and there are many good clubs. Our first objective is to reach the round of 16, and then we will see.”
