Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez addressed the media ahead of the QNB Stars League Round 13 clash with Al Sailiya, stressing on the difficulty of the game.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Xavi said: “Al Sailiya is our next opponent and we must know that they defeated Al Rayyan, Al Duhail and Al Gharafa. It means the game will be difficult, especially as they work really well in defence. They follow man-to-man marking almost all over the pitch, and their coach Sami Trabelsi has a lot of experience.”
“They are doing really well and it’s a really good team, and not just this season, but for a long time over many seasons. Their foreigner and local players are very experienced so it will be really tough to get the three points.”
He added: “But we are in a good moment, we are on the top of the table and we have to keep going.”
“We have an eight-point difference with Al Duhail and we have to take advantage of this game before playing against Al Duhail (in the next round).”
As for his side’s recent form, Xavi said: “We are in the best position, at the top of the table and we are really happy because the performance has been really good.”
“All the players have been performing well and we must keep going like this.”
“There are ten games remaining and we cannot lose points. We have to keep the advantage until the end. And of course the target is to win this competition, and we are in the best position in the table.”
“So we are happy but we have to keep this level.”
Asked about the status of the unavailable players – Akram Afif, Khoukhi Boualem, Hussam Kamal, the coach replied: “We have to wait, we have to be patient. Of course we are unlucky that we are missing three players due to COVID-19. Tarek is also injured. But it’s not an excuse to win because we feel that we are in a good moment and position.”
“Of course we are talking about important players of the team, but that’s why we have a bigger squad to replace these players.”
“We are missing all of them but we have many players to do a good job.”
