Xavi: Al-Ahli game will be tough, we need to recover mentally and physically

Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez expects a tough game when his side face Al-Ahli in Round 8 of the QNB Stars League, especially as his players need to recover from their Champions League exit.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Xavi said: “Al-Ahli are a good team and they have made some excellent signings. I know their coach very well. The match will be very difficult. We need to recover mentally and physically.”

“We will play for the three points, and even if we are favourites to win, we must perform on the pitch to get the win.”

Xavi remarked that the greatest lesson the team got from the two games against Al-Hilal in the Champions League, is the need to learn from mistakes. “I am proud of my players’ performance and we were better than Al-Hilal. The first leg result is what caused our exit, as we had to complete the game with ten men.”

He added: “We learnt a lot from the mistakes and the most important one is to not get sent off and to be disciplined. Football teaches us a lot and we have to benefit from these. If we had not got a red card, we could have won the first leg.”

Asked about the missing players in his team, Xavi said: “We will see who are the players ready to play. (Ahmed) Sayyar is the only injured player.”

As for if Abdelkarim Hassan would continue to be absent, the coach said: “We will hold a meeting after the final session and see what happens.”