Ferreira: We were the better side, we don’t deserve this defeat

Al-Sadd coach Jesualdo Ferreira expressed his satisfaction with his team’s performance despite a 1-0 defeat to Persepolis in the AFC Champions League.

The result meant that Al-Sadd lost out on the top spot in Group C, but Ferreira was adamant that his players had done all they could. Speaking at the post-match press conference, he said: “We don’t deserve this defeat; we were better side in the match. My players put up an entertaining show playing away against a strong team. Despite conceding early on, the Al-Sadd players came back strongly and threatened their goal on many occasions. We just weren’t lucky.”

He added: “It was an entertaining match. Al-Sadd were better. Anyway, it doesn’t matter if we are first or second in the group. I congratulate both teams for making it to the next round. And I am fully satisfied with what my players displayed in the match.”

As for his view on the refereeing, Ferreira said: “There was an unfair booking for Pedro, which will rule him out of the Round of 16 first leg match. If the referee had shown a red card to Persepolis captain Seyed Jalal, things would have been very different in the last half an hour of the match. Also, Khoukhi Boualem’s goal was correct; Bounedjah was not in an offside position. However, this is how football is. All that matters to me is the good performance of my players in the game.”

Ferreira concluded by saying: “I am happy with the players’ performance. I hope fortune will favour us in the upcoming matches at home and in Asia.”