Ferreira: We were the better side, we deserve this result

Al-Sadd head coach Jesualdo Ferreira praised the efforts of his players after they clinched a spot in the quarterfinals of the AFC Champions League after a 4-3 aggregate win over Al-Ahli in the Round of 16.

Speaking to the media after the second leg in Jeddah on Monday night, Ferreira said: “We played a great game. I was hoping for the win but I will take this draw, which has taken us to the quarterfinals of the championship.”

Asked if Al-Sadd were lucky to go through, considering Al-Ahli missed key players, Ferreira said: “This kind of talk is unacceptable because we are missing players too. We have had injured players too; we have missed key players just like Al-Ahli and this is how football is. Maybe, even if Al-Ahli had played with a full-strength team, they may have not been able to win. End of the day, we were better and we deserve to go through.”

He concluded: “We are very happy with the team’s achievement. I want to thank all the players for the efforts they put in. Congratulations to all of them. We hope fortune will favour us and we can continue on our road of success in Asia.”