DOHA (Qatar): Qatar side Al Sadd will take on Al Ain for a second time in three days in their Group D match of AFC Champions League on Friday.
The two sides had played out a thrilling 3-3 draw on Tuesday, with Al Ain taking the lead and Al Sadd equalising twice, before the Qataris took the lead at the hour mark through Baghdad Bounedjah, but a Boualem Khoukhi own goal ensured the points were shared in the competition’s joint highest scoring game to date.
A win on Friday could put Sadd within a point of the Round of 16 with two games still to play, should Al Nassr beat Sepahan in the late Friday fixture.
“We created over 12 chances to score in the previous game, but we need to attack more and increase our efficiency in front of goal while focusing on defending better,” said Al Sadd head coach Xavi.
“We deserved to win the last match because we dominated but that game is in the past now. We need to create more chances and avoid making the mistakes we did. I love working under pressure, and players use the pressure to drive them to win but I don’t like players feeling pressured, I just want them to go out there and enjoy their game,” the Spaniard told a press conference on Thursday.
The draw meant inaugural AFC Champions League winners Al Ain took their first point of the current edition but remained in fourth place, while Al Sadd conceded the Group D top spot to Al Nassr, dropping to second with six points.
“We have two or three plans for every game, as a match goes by, we try to adapt to how things are coming along and that is what happened in the first game. We managed to get the draw at the end and pressed hard to get the winner,” said Al Ain coach Pedro Emanuel. (Source: AFC)
