Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Muscat: Al Hilal coach Georgios Donis is hoping his side can bounce back from losing in the semi-finals of Saudi Arabia’s King’s Cup to qualify for the knockout phase of the AFC Champions League when they meet Iran’s Tractorsazi Tabriz on Tuesday.
Donis’ team lost 3-2 to Jeddah’s Al Ahli on Friday in the domestic competition and must win against Tractorsazi – who have already sealed top spot in Group C – to be certain of playing in the last 16 of the 2016 continental club championship.
Al Hilal have eight points from five games, one more than Pakhtakor, who face bottom-of-the-table Al Jazira in the day’s other game in the group, with the Uzbeks waiting to pounce on any slip ups by the two-time Asian champions.
“We are ready to fight in the match against Tractorsazi. It’s very important for us as we must get the three points if we want to qualify to the knockout stage of the competition,” said the former Greece international (pictured).
“We are going through a difficult period as our performances in recent matches have not been good.
“We have made several defensive mistakes in our recent matches and hopefully we can fix these before the game tomorrow. The heavy schedule that we have had has affected us and we have missed several players in recent matches.”
The teams met on Matchday Five with Tractorsazi’s 2-0 win – thanks to goals from Aloys Nong and Farzad Hatami - ensuring Amir Ghalehnoy’s side booked their place in the next phase of the competition as group winners.
Despite having already qualified for the Round of 16, the former Iran national team coach insisted his team are looking to secure another win, even as he looks to make some alterations to his line-up.
“The match is very important for us because it is against one of the best teams in Saudi Arabia and we respect them because they are a good side,” he said. “We might make some tactical changes in order to rest some players and give the chance for other players to start the match.
“However, this doesn’t mean that we will not playing with the best squad that we have and our ambition will only be to win and get the three points. We are focused on the importance of winning the and hopefully the players will give their best tomorrow.”
Photo: Lagardère Sports