Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez addressed the media ahead of the QNB Stars League Round 8 game against Al-Wakrah, describing the clash as “difficult” and sounding a warning that his team “cannot relax.”
“We have our next game against Al-Wakrah. We are in a very good position, we are at the top of the table. Of course, the objective of the season is to win this title. But every game will be really difficult. Now we face Al-Wakrah and if you remember, we lost 2-1 against them last season,” Xavi remarked.
“It will be really tough, because their coach Tintin Marquez is one of the best coaches here in the QSL. We have experience against them and we expect that they will work really hard in defence. We have to give our best performance, from all the players, to win this game because it will be really complicated.”
Speaking about Al-Wakrah’s quality, Xavi said: “They have a very good team. They have Ceballos, Isaias, Benyettou, Coulibaly and Lucas Mendes as the foreigner players, and their domestic players are also improving a lot. They play really well, they already have 10 points and are in a good position. It will be tough because Al Wakrah is a really good team this season.”
As for his side’s current form, the Al-Sadd coach said: “We have to keep going, and keep this level. Now, everybody is happy in the club, and also myself, because I feel that we are in the best moments since I became the coach here. This is the way. I think everybody is doing really well. Everybody is enjoying, helping the team and working for the team.”
“But we cannot relax. As you know, in this competition, all the games will be really difficult to win. Now, we want to beat Al-Wakrah and we want to get three points.”
Asked about playing against defensive teams, Xavi said: “It’s tough to play against a defensive style, like Umm Salal played against us. We expect more or less the same against Al Wakrah, even against Al Arabi and Al Duhail. Everybody is waiting for us in defence, so we have to improve our level a little bit to win the next game, for sure.”
