Xavi: I am proud of my team, we were more deserving to go through; it was a match for the history books

Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez remarked that his side were more deserving to go through to the AFC Champions League final, after exiting at the hands of Al-Hilal in the semifinal stage on aggregate, despite winning the second leg 4-2 in Riyadh.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Xavi said: “It was a great game from both teams, which was worthy of a semifinal.”

“We were better in the first and second legs. I am proud of my team and I am also disappointed because we deserved to be in the final.”

He added: “We played with the same manner as in the first leg. The result was only because the red card. Today we played with our identity, but it was only the first leg result that made things difficult for us. We tried to give our best but luck was not in our favour. We must continue working and learn from our mistakes. Today’s match showed that we are a big team with character. We must learn the lessons for the next season.”

Xavi also spoke about how the absence of Baghdad Bounedjah and Abdelkarim Hassan affected the team, but added that “the team put up a great performance.”

The coach further remarked: “This game deserved to be a final and not a semi-final, as it is a game for the history books of Asia.”