Al Rayyan coach Laurent Blanc spoke to the media ahead of their 2020-21 season QNB Stars League Week 17 match against Al Kharaitiyat.

“The importance of this match is that it is a very good opportunity for us to get back to the winning path, and we respect the opponents very much.

“We played difficult matches against Al Duhail and Al Sadd clubs in the league and 2021 Qatar Cup semifinal respectively, and the games were difficult physically and technically. We made great efforts in those matches.

“We will play the match against Al Kharaitiyat in order to win and the opponent will also play for victory. I respect all teams and I hope that there will be no psychological impact on the players because of the loss in the last two games, as we played against the best teams in the league, which are Al Sadd and Al Duhail.

“Everyone knows that there are injuries in the team to some of the key players and we have prepared the team well. The players are determined to win and I appreciate and respect the opponent.

“I hope we will play a good game, as we did against Al Duhail and Al Sadd. But they were better than us in some aspects, so we will continue to work. We have a vision to prepare a strong team such as Al Duhail and Al Sadd, so I hope we win and the results improve.

“I have studied Al Kharaitiyat well and watched many videos of their games. They are a good team and it is not easy at all against them,” sad Blanc.

Al Rayyan player Naif Al Hadrami said, “We have put behind the Qatar Cup 2021 semifinal against Al Sadd  and now focus on facing Al Kharaitiyat. We will give everything we have and we will take each match as it comes, to achieve second place in the league.

“To be one the best three Under-23 players in the First Division league so far this season is an incentive for me and that was possible with the efforts of the team and all coaches.

“Having exited the 2021 Qatar Cup, our goal is now to focus on the league and Amir Cup.”