Xavi: We are going through a good period, and we need three points against Qatar SC

12 August 2020

Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez has praised his team for their recent performances and also spoke of the difficulty of the upcoming clash against Qatar SC in Round 21 of the QNB Stars League. The match is set to be played on Thursday at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Xavi said: “I’m very happy to beat Al-Duhail. I think, in the last six games against them, we won four, we drew one and lost just once. It means we have the capacity to beat all the teams in this country.”

“I’m very happy with the performance of the team, of the players, how they worked really hard, in solidarity with each other and being really aggressive. We were attacking really well especially in the first 60-70 minutes, but then we suffered in the last 15-20 minutes because of course they are Al-Duhail, and they’re a really good team. But we beat them again, and it means a lot.”

He added: “It is a big win. It’s big also for the future, we may play them in the Champions League next season. So I’m really happy. It’s not a normal win, it’s a really big win.”

As for the next game against Qatar SC, Xavi said: “It’s a very tough game, because as you know, we lost 3-0 in the first game against them. It’s a very important game for us because we want to put pressure on Al-Rayyan and Al-Duhail and we need these three points.”

“Of course, it will be really difficult as there is a possibility for Qatar SC to go down to the second division, so they will be aggressive. They are a very well organised team with Wesam (Rizk) as a coach. They are very tough and we know their capability. We lost 3-0 in the first game, so it’s really tough. But of course, there is always a chance for revenge in football and we want to take revenge. We want to beat Qatar and show our level. We are in a good period and we are confident after our last three games.”

Al-Sadd won all three of their games after the league’s restart, and Xavi praised the team’s recent form. “This is very important for me because we had the mentality to come back and compete well,” he said. “Everybody has their problems to win their games, of course it wasn’t easy to win these three games but we are going through a good period. We are taking confidence (from this) for the future, and also we have a small opportunity to win this competition. Two finals are remaining for us; the first one is against Qatar. It’s a difficult game but we want to get three points to put pressure on Duhail and Rayyan.”

Finally, he concluded by saying: “I’m very happy with the performance of the players, and now we have Musab (Khodr) and Yusuf (Abdurisag), and I’m very happy because we are organising a very good team for the future.”