Speaking at the prematch press conference our head coach Paulo Sousa, stated that the team will face a very strong opponent in tomorrow’s AFC Champions League Elite match, noting that Al Hilal have achieved many successes in this competition and are currently leading the Saudi Pro League. He added that this situation presents a big challenge and motivates the team to continue improving.
He said: “We must fight to qualify. We have a heavy match schedule, having played more than ten matches in 38 days. This keeps the players at peak fitness, but on the other hand it also causes injuries to some players, which forces us to look for new ideas to face the challenge.”
He added: “From the bottom of my heart, my full confidence in all the players, and I am sure we will make the best decisions. I can say we are the only team that has used all available players in recent matches. Tomorrow we will call up players from the reserve team, as we are looking for a lineup capable of achieving a positive result.”
