Al Gharafa coach Andrea Stramaccioni spoke to the media ahead of their 2021-2022 season QNB Stars League Week 11 match against Al Sailiya.

“I watched the Al Gharafa vs Al Sailiya matches last season and noticed that we faced many difficulties against them. It seemed clear that as a team and as a coach, they are able to cause difficulties for Al Gharafa and they have proved it in the past seasons.

“Of course, this match will be important for us, firstly, in order to return to victories, and secondly, because we are coming from a match during which I was not satisfied with our technical display. Some may say that in the end we drew and did not concede a goal, but I am personally not happy with the way we played in the last match, so I am looking forward to seeing the reaction of our players against Al Sailiya.

“At the moment, I personally think that it is too early to talk about positions. Rather, we have to think about Al Gharafa and what we offer, and think about winning the next match, which will not be easy. We must not think about the standings table because we have to think about winning the match without guessing and without thinking about the results of the rest of the teams. We have to do our duty in the game, after that we can follow the results of others. And I want my team to focus only on Al Sailiya during the 90 minutes and extra time because, as I said, they are very important to us,” said Stramaccioni.

Al Gharafa player Abdullah Saei said, “In the last match, we did not appear at the required level, but thank God we got a point and we have to benefit and learn from our mistakes in order not to repeat them. Naturally, after the big break, the technical level of the players was affected and we have to focus on training.

“Thank God, I am satisfied with my level, especially as I am returning from a long injury layoff.”