Al Sadd coach Xavi Hernandez spoke to the media ahead of their 2019-20 QNB Stars League Week 19 match against Al Ahli.

“I am happy to be back guiding my team after completing my quarantine. I thank the players for their good performance in the last match against Al Khor despite the fact that we faced an organised side.

“We will face Al Ahli and we have to win, there are four finals left for us. Certainly, winning the league title is very difficult now, but Al Sadd always play to win. The last four games are finals for us and we will do our best to achieve victories.

“Al Khor match was difficult for me while I was watching it from the hotel and not the stadium. I am satisfied with the team, the result was close to a draw, but we managed to win and it is very important at this stage, especially as we play after the competition was stopped for many months.

“Al Ahli want to avoid a bad result because they are among the clubs in the danger zone, we also cannot lose points because our ambition is to finish the season in second place or achieve the league title, so we want victory against Al Ahli. On paper, we are stronger, but we have to show this strength on the field as well, especially because we are training well and I am completely satisfied with the level of players in training and also in the last game,” said Xavi.

Al Sadd player Hossam Kamal said, “We are ready for the next game against Al Ahli. It will be difficult, our victory against Al Khor is a motivation for us to provide a better level against a strong opponent. I hope that we will show a good level in this match and the upcoming matches because our target is to win all of them.

“We faced some difficulties in the Al Khor match and that was the first after the break. We could have ended up losing the three points, but the players’ desire to win prevailed and we have to work hard in the coming period to reach the best level.”