Al Duhail First Football Team Head Coach Djamel Belmadi, expressed his great happiness following the victory his team achieved today against Shabab Al Ahli Dubai (UAEi) in the fourth round of the league stage matches of the AFC Champions League Elite.
Belmadi opened his statements during the post match press conference saying: “As I mentioned yesterday during the pre-match press conference, the match would be difficult against a very strong opponent. I stressed that we seek to offer a lot and not just participate, and we have the desire to achieve victories and present more to maintain this high level of competition. We have the components for that, and what the players delivered today was magnificent.”
Belmadi added: “We did not change our playing style after the injury that Karim Boudiaf suffered before the start of the match, specifically during the warm-up, but Benjamin’s participation as a substitute was more than wonderful. He delivered a good performance and helped the team a lot, and this is football—it always gives you opportunities at times you might not expect. Benjamin was great during training and is of a high standard, and I am very happy for him. As I mentioned yesterday, at this level of competition, you should not make many mistakes. Today we had many chances and did not commit many mistakes. We controlled the flow of the game, and we also missed a penalty kick during the second half, and that was certainly a wonderful thing.”
Belmadi concluded his statements by saying: “I fully believe that the team has great capabilities and potential, which we proved to be true in tonight’s match. We also delivered a strong performance against Al Ahli (in a previous match), and the result was not fair, but I reiterate that the mistakes deprived us of the three points in that match. Today we were more positive inside the penalty area, and when we lose the ball, everyone returns to defend and regain possession. When we are like this, it is difficult to lose any match. Our current challenge is to continuously maintain this level, which is a difficult thing, and we must always work for it. We have another league match against Al Sailiya, and we must rest and recover well and prepare thoroughly for this important match.
