Felix Sanchez
Doha: Al Sadd head coach Felix Sanchez lauded his team’s grit after a last-gasp penalty sealed a thrilling 2-1 win over Al Nassr Club on Monday, securing the Qatari side’s spot in the AFC Champions League Elite 2024/25 knockout stage.
Al Nassr cancelled out Akram Afif’s opener through Romain Saiss’ own goal before the AFC Asian Player of the Year drew a foul in stoppage time with Adam Ounas converting from the spot.
“I congratulate the Al Sadd fans on this win, and I especially want to commend the players. We played a strong and wonderful match against an attacking team,” said Sanchez.
“We defended when necessary in a distinctive way and capitalised on our opportunities with the attacking approach we wanted.”
“Our primary goal was to deprive Al Nassr of possession. It’s never easy to beat Al Nassr in their home stadium, but the players displayed tremendous character on the field.
“We approach every match independently. Each team we face plays differently, and we take the AFC Champions League (ACLE) one match at a time. The team has consistently shown strong character throughout the tournament by adapting to different opponents.”
Al Nassr suffered their first defeat of the campaign and head coach Stephano Pioli lamented his team’s inability to convert their chances.
“The match was good, but we made some mistakes and paid a heavy price with this loss,” said Piolli.
“I don’t want to focus too much on the absence of players, including (Cristiano) Ronaldo. We worked hard in this match and created chances, but unfortunately, we couldn’t convert them, that’s football.
“The opposition capitalised on our mistakes and secured the win. We needed to be more patient as we recorded 17 shots on goal but lacked precision. Today’s loss feels unfair because we performed well and created numerous chances.”
