Al Duhail coach Christophe Galtier spoke to the media ahead of their 2024-2025 season Ooredoo Stars League Week 8 match against Al Gharafa.

“Of course, the Al Gharafa match is important against one of the teams playing in the AFC Champions League Elite. I watched their last match in the Asian championship and, of course, the Al Gharafa team has great offensive capabilities.

“During the last three days, we prepared well for the match, and focused on linking the team’s lines and presenting a good performance, unlike what happened during the last Al Ahli match.

“One of the positive things is returning to play on our home field. Al Gharafa team may be exhausted due to playing in the AFC Champions League, but playing in the AFC Champions League atmosphere and at high levels certainly gives the players the motivation and incentive to present good levels. Al Gharafa have time, even if it is short, to recover and regain their breath before facing us.

“Of course, the competing teams study our method well and work on developing the defensive levels, which we clearly saw during the Al Ahli match and the lack of scoring opportunities, unlike the Al Shahania match, where we had many opportunities but we wasted many of them,” said Galtier.

Al Duhail defender Lucas da Silva said, “Our preparations were of course very great, as we are well aware of the strength of the competitor in the upcoming match and we are well aware of the importance of winning all the points of this match on our journey in the league championship.

“The AFC Champions League Elite is a strong tournament and requires many players who are ready to participate, which is available in the Al Gharafa team. But we, at Al Duhail, think about ourselves and do not think about other clubs, and we only seek to win the three points and continue in the lead.

“Of course, the defensive solidity we have shown so far is due to the coach, who helps us a lot in the process of correct positioning. We also must not forget the role of the midfielders and attackers who move back to help us in the defensive process. Therefore, we strive to always keep a clean sheet or at least reduce the number of goals we concede.”