Al Duhail coach Christophe Galtier spoke to the media ahead of their 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League Week 7 match against Al Shamal.

“A very important match awaits us and its importance comes from the fact that we lost a number of points in the previous rounds, and our ambition is to reach the top spot.

“After the end of our AFC Champions League match against Al Nassr, I told the players that the team must return to winning ways again with all enthusiasm and seriousness. Although the travel and the close 3-4 result in the match against Al Nasr may affect the players, we have worked hard to prepare them physically and technically.

“I am satisfied with the players’ performance. We had many opportunities to score and we lost due to the individual skills of Al Nassr players. When I watched the recording of the match, I found that our players performed what was required of them and the physical and technical performance was good. Although they played well under pressure, unfortunately we lost the contest.”

“When I assumed my task, I had a prior idea about the team and immediately began working to address everything that I had observed while implementing the team’s technical strategy.

“We have been working hard in training in order to make the players’ performance improve day after day. I want to see my team play beautiful football and this is the shortcut for the team to get back on the right track,” said Galtier.

Al Duhail player Abdulaziz Mohammed said, “We played a great match against Al Nassr, which demonstrates the great effort made by the technical staff.

“I succeeded in making it to the squad in several matches and it is due to the efforts that I make in training. I do not consider my participation whether I am a starter or on the bench, but I know very well that I must exert all my effort in training and which will get me into the team.”