Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Coach Michael Laudrup insists his Lekhwiya side can still qualify for the Round of 16 despite a 1-1 draw at home to Saudi champions Al Nassr in Matchday Two of the AFC Champions League leaving the Qataris with just one point from two games at the foot of Group A.
A lively encounter at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha on Tuesday saw the visitors take the lead at the beginning of the second half through a Mohamed Musa own goal, but the Qatari Stars League winners levelled the tie five minutes later through Slovakian striker Vladimir Weiss (pictured).
Weiss and Al Nassr’s Mohammed Al Sahlawi both missed penalties in the final 30 minutes, and Laudrup admitted he was disappointed with the result as he thought his team were the better of the two and were unlucky not to convert their chances.
Match report: Lekhwiya 1-1 Al Nassr
“It’s disappointing for us and we should have got a better result. We played a good match and created many scoring chances but were unlucky not to score those,” said Laudrup, who saw his team suffer a 3-0 reversal at Persepolis of Iran in Matchday One last week.
“We were the better side especially for the first half but we missed several scoring chances because of lack of concentration.
“We had great determination to win the match because we needed it but we still have a chance to qualify from the group,” added the Dane, whose side will travel to Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan on Matchday Three in two weeks’ time.
Al Nassr coach Jorge Da Silva, meanwhile, admitted he was satisfied with the result but said his team could have taken all three points back to Riyadh had their opponents’ keeper Amine Lecomte not had such a good day.
“The result that we had today was satisfying for us as the match was open and there were many scoring chances,” said Da Silva, who will be hoping the Saudis can secure their first three points of Asia’s premier club competition when they host group leaders Persepolis on 17 March.
“We took the lead and missed several scoring chances but the Lekhwiya goalkeeper was on top form. In the second period we put pressure on the goal of our opponents and were not lucky and missed a penalty.
“The door is still open to qualify from the group and there is nothing settled yet.”
Photo: WSG