Al Sadd are eyeing a place in the AFC Champions League final.
DOHA: Al Sadd coach Jesualdo Ferreira has urged his players to bring their A-game to the AFC Champions League semi-finals clash against Iranian giants Persepolis.
On Monday, Al Sadd produced a feisty 2-2 draw against Iranian outfit Esteghlal to complete a 5-2 win on aggregate, to sign in for the last-four clash set to be played over two legs in October.
“There’s no doubt the game against Persepolis will be tough,” Ferreira said in his post-match comments.
“We need to be at our best when we play them, and that match is going to be like a final,” the seasoned Portuguese coach added.
On Monday, Persepolis overturned a 1-0 deficit against Qatari side Al Duhail to win the return leg 3-1 at Azadi Stadium in Tehran.
“We played them earlier (in the group stage), but this time it will be completely different. We saw how they overturned the result against Al Duhail,” Ferreira said of the clash.
Al Sadd coach admitted the second leg against Esteghlal took a lot out of his boys compared to the first leg in Tehran.
“The game in Tehran was easier than this one,” he said.
“Esteghlal came with full strength and they played with the aim of making up for the two-goal deficit from the first leg.
“They almost scored a third goal in the latter stages of the game. We feared that the game would go on to extra-time and penalties but we were able to maintain the score-line and then scored a late goal to go through to the semi-final.
“It is true that we got a lot of chances to score but we weren’t able to benefit from them. When you play against a team with 10 men, it doesn’t always mean that they are weak.
“Esteghlal showed that they are a strong team but we showed our strength as well by reaching the semi-finals.”
With an AFC Champions League semi-final berth confirmed, Al Sadd now turn focus to QNB Stars League.
“Now, we need to focus on our game against Al Rayyan in the league and then we will be able to properly think about the semi-final,” Ferreira said.
“I’m sure that we have enough experience to deal with the tough matches that are coming up, both at home and in Asia,” he added.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd captain Hassan Al Haydos was all praise for the way his team fought against Esteghlal at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
“It feels great to have reached the semi-finals of this prestigious championship,” Al Haydos said after the thrilling contest under lights.
“We have worked extremely hard to reach thus far. The players have put in great efforts all through the AFC Champions League so far,” he added.
“I want to say ‘well done’ to the players and want to thank the fans for their support,” Al Haydos said.
“It was a great team effort. Hopefully we go all the way,” he added.
Al Sadd’s goals were scored by Akram Afif (27) and Bounedjah (90 + 2). Esteghlal, who played most part of the second half with 10 men, were lifted by goals by Rouhollah Bagheri (32) and Morteza Tabrizi (49).
“It was an amazing fight. We worked as a team,” influential midfielder Abdelkarim Hassan said.
“We hope we can continue like this. We have done well in this year’s championship. We have won the title in the past,” he added.
The first leg will be played on October 2 in Doha followed by the return match in Tehran on October 23.
