Doha [Qatar], October 13: Al Sadd will be looking to get their AFC Champions League Elite campaign back on track when they host Saudi giants Al Hilal at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Tuesday.
The Qatar champions suffered a 3-0 defeat to Iran's Esteghlal FC in their opening match and face another tough test against an Al Hilal side aiming for a second consecutive victory in the league stage of the continental competition.
Al Sadd, who are seeking their second continental title, will be eager to bounce back after the disappointing start, having entered the tournament in good domestic form. However, they will need to be more defensively disciplined against an Al Hilal team determined to reclaim the trophy they last won in 2021.
Al Hilal began their campaign with a victory over Qatar's Al Gharafa and will be confident of maintaining their momentum.
Despite topping the West Zone league stage in each of their last two campaigns, the Saudi giants fell short in the knockout rounds and will be keen to go further this time.
Al Sadd coach Razvan Lucescu acknowledged the challenge posed by his former club but said his focus was firmly on securing the team's first win of the campaign.
"We are playing our second match in this edition of the tournament, and we know that we are also coming from a domestic loss, but we are not thinking about anything other than facing Al Hilal," said the Romanian at Monday's pre-match press conference.
"After the league match, we talked about this loss, even though we played a good match."
Lucescu said his team had shown consistency in their performances but needed to address lapses in concentration that had proved costly in recent matches.
"Yes, I coached Al Hilal previously, and it is an excellent team with good players currently. Al Hilal is on the right track, and the match has a personal meaning for me with a former team," he said.
"I am now the coach of Al Sadd, and I am striving to achieve the best result in this match. We must have the focus that we lacked in the three matches."
Asked about Al Sadd conceding nine goals in their last three matches, Lucescu said the team had worked to correct its defensive shortcomings. "We suffered from a kind of lack of focus and conceded many goals, even in the match in which we won and scored six goals. We worked on addressing the flaws and individual errors that caused this number of goals, and we are fully prepared for the match that will be held at our stadium," he said.
The coach also called on the fans to turn out in force, stressing that their support could prove crucial in a difficult encounter.
Al Sadd defender Paulo Otavio echoed his coach's sentiments, describing the match as particularly important given the team's need to get its campaign moving. "This is the most important match for us given its current timing, and it is against one of the best clubs in Asia. We are looking forward to achieving our first victory in the current edition of the tournament," Otavio said.
"I am confident that we will perform well and win this match, so we are working to be at the highest level of readiness."
Otavio said the players were determined to deliver a performance worthy of the supporters. "We, as players, are ready to give our all in this match. We have a distinguished lineup of players in attack and defence, and we know it will be a match for the fans, and the fans are an important factor for us," he said. "We want, and we emphasise, that we will live up to the fans' expectations."
Source : Qatar Tribune
