Xavi: Proud of the players’ performance against Monterrey, our mistakes led to the defeat

Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez expressed his pride in his players’ performance despite the 3-2 loss to Monterrey in the second round of the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Xavi said: “I am very disappointed. I am proud of the players for their performance, but we made many mistakes that helped the opponents. We deserved more than that and at least we deserved to go to extra time.

He added: “Al Sadd played a good game and I am proud of that, but the result was bad and this is how football is.”

On the benefit the team got from participating in the tournament, Xavi said: “We must learn from our mistakes. I am happy with most of the team’s players and how they played. But in football the result is the most important and we must not make mistakes, which is the reason for the loss today.”

Regarding the upcoming match against Tunisian side Esperance, the Al Sadd coach remarked: “Esperance is a good team and today competed intensely against Al-Hilal. They are an excellent team in defense. We will try to defeat them and get fifth place.”

Xavi concluded by saying: “There is no player who wants to make mistakes. I spoke with them and I am proud of them. We were better in the second half. I am proud of the players and happy with what they displayed and I am only sad about the result.”