Xavi: Al-Rayyan deserve the win, we must work hard to return strongly

Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez expressed his disappointment after his side fell to a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Al-Rayyan in Round 6 of the 2019-20 QNB Stars League.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Xavi said: “I am very disappointed to lose the game. We played against a good team and I congratulate them for the win.”

“Winning and losing is part of football. We must work hard to return strongly.”

He added: “Al-Rayyan deserved the win. We had many chances but the match was like a boxing ring and Al-Rayyan managed to clinch the game in their favour.”

Asked about the effect of the defeat to Al-Hilal on the players, Xavi said: “Of course, the last game had an effect on the players. But the Al-Rayyan team performed a great job and they deserve to win. We just needed to work harder.”

The coach also said: “We believe in ourselves and we will continue working. If we defeat Al-Arabi in the postponed game, we wil return to the top of the table.”

He concluded by saying: “This season will not be easy.”