The Qatar champions had bounced back from a slow start to the campaign that saw them collect one point from their first two games, to bag a 5-2 victory over Al Wehdat in the previous match, having been 2-1 down at the halftime break.
Head coach Javi Gracia will be looking at squad depth to make a difference for his Al Sadd side as they take on Jordan’s Al Wehdat in Matchday Four of the AFC Champions League™ 2021 Group E on Tuesday.
The Qatar champions had bounced back from a slow start to the campaign that saw them collect one point from their first two games, to bag a 5-2 victory over Al Wehdat in the previous match, having been 2-1 down at the halftime break.
Santi Cazorla, Andrew Ayew and substitutes Rodrigo Tabata and Mohamed Waad found the back of the net in a ruthless second-half display for the Qatari side, and coach Gracia expects more of the same in the upcoming games if Al Sadd are to reach the knockout stage for the fourth time in the past five years.
“Now we have a different game because we play the same team twice in five days,” Gracia said during a press conference yesterday. You could see in the previous game, Waad and Tabata came off the bench and scored and other substitutes contributed to the build-up of the goals too. Players coming off the bench can help us, and there are players you haven’t seen yet who will also be good when we use them,” he said.
“I think we did many things well in the first half, only that we conceded two late goals. In the second half, we scored four goals and we dominated the game, but in all the games you have to work hard and then the chances appear.
“We created many chances; we scored some and missed others. I’m happy with the way the team is playing, we need to improve our mentality every day and I think we are on the right path. We have to show in the remaining three games our level, our compactness, our resilience and effectiveness, because two games ago, we didn’t,” he added.
Meanwhile, Al Wehdat go into the second half of the group stage campaign with only one point to their name, leaving them rooted to the foot of the group. Midfielder Monther Abu Amara said his side are determined to turn things around despite the lack of preparation that contributed to the poor start.
“It is going to be a strong match against an Al Sadd team that is one of the best in Asia. The first match was hard fought, we led in the first half, but a football game is two halves,” said Abu Amara.
“We did not prepare well for the competition. We had a friendly tournament on artificial turf which did not help. The inputs we needed in order to compete in the biggest competition in Asian football were not there, so physically we were struggling.
“The coach knows the situation best, but our job as players is to do our best. Jordanian players are known for our determination and fighting spirit.”
