Xavi: We played an exemplary game, I thank the fans for their great support

Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez expressed his happiness with his side’s important 3-0 win over Sepahan in the AFC Champions League, which gave them their first three points of the campaign.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Xavi: “I am very happy with the victory and happy with the performance of all the players. We played an exemlpary match and it was one of our best games at home in the Champions League. I also want to thank the fans who gave a strong support for the team in this match, for our first victory in the Champions League this season.”

Xavi added: “We are going through very good moments after collecting 4 points. We must not forget that the competition will be strong in Group D. The next game is away to Al Ain; we must win home and away against them to get close to qualifying for the second round.”

Regarding Khoukhi and Al-Haydos’ injury, the Al-Sadd coach said: “We are suffering with many injuries during the current period, after Ali Asad and Salem Al-Hajri suffered Achilles injuries and will miss up to five months. Khoukhi had a slight knock. I hope Al-Haydos’ injury won’t be a major one, especially as he had an excellent performance today.”

Xavi concluded by saying: “Group D is the hardest in West Asia. We have to focus on the next matches and prepare well for the next league match against Umm Salal.”