Al Duhail coach Rui Faria spoke to the media ahead of their 2019-20 QNB Stars League Week 2 match against Al Arabi.

“We face a tough task against a team that is well organised and has technical staff capable of doing a great job. They’ve players who can quickly reach the opponents’ goal. We’ll focus on what we can do on the  pitch.

“The absence of some key players will affect any team and that’s what happened to us in our game against Qatar SC. The emergence of new players is definitely a positive sign, but that alone won’t compensate for seniors’ absence.

“We made good efforts and put up a strong performance. I was satisfied with the performance, but if we were able to score goals from the opportunities that we had, there would’ve been another scenario.

“Regarding striker Muhanad Ali, I would say that he’s under pressure, especially because he’s in media focus. He needs more time to adapt. He works well in training and I know he’ll soon settle into his stride,” said Faria.