Al Sadd’s Spanish coach Xavi Hernandez gestures during the second leg of the AFC Champions League semi-final match against Saudi’s Al Hilal in Riyadh on Tuesday.
Doha: Al Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez said his side were more deserving to go through to the AFC Champions League (ACL) final, after losing to Al Hilal in the semi-final 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.
Xavi said the first leg loss made the difference in the qualification race.
“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.”
“This game deserved to be a final and not a semi-final, as it is a game for the history books of Asia,” he added.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd midfielder Nam Tae-hee was at the heart of the Wolves’ efforts to reach the AFC Champions League final.
Nam was named as the Man-of-the-Match for his performances, which included scoring Al-Sadd’s second goal of the game and assisting Khoukhi Boualem for the fourth goal.
Speaking after the game, Nam said: “We played a great game. The first leg result was the reason for our exit in the semifinal. Today was a footballing lesson.”
