(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
By Chinthana Wasala | The Peninsula
Doha: Al Sadd coach Xavi Hernandez relished his side's thrilling 6-4 win over Al Gharafa in their last QNB Stars League (QSL) match ahead of the crunch Amir Cup final, but warned his ranks that the title clash against Al Rayyan will be completely different.
On Sunday, the reigning QSL champions overcame Al Gharafa in 10-goal thriller to boost their confidence before the Friday's Amir Cup final to be played at the brand new Al Thumama Stadium – a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 venue.
Al Sadd, 17-time winners of the prestigious Amir Cup title, defeated Al Arabi in the last year's final at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. The tie against Al Rayyan will be a repeat of the 2017 final in which Al Sadd, under the captaincy of Xavi, clinched the title with a 2-1 win.
Al Sadd, with six successive victories at the QSL, will start as favourites against Al Rayan, who are struggling in the start of the season with just a win from six games.
However, Xavi said the recent results will not count much in the Amir Cup final, which is expected to be played in front of 40,000 spectators.
“The Amir Cup final will be different. It will be played in better conditions and atmosphere than today's match,” said Xavi.
“Our focus from now is on the final match; our goal is winning the championship and defending the title,” the Barcelona legend added.
Speaking about the win over Al Gharafa in 10-goal thriller, Xavi said he was happy to earn important points in a crucial match.
“I am very happy with the victory and the three points. This result came in an important match and against an excellent team like Al Gharafa. It was one of the best matches in the league, according to my opinion,” Xavi said.
He added:“We made several mistakes and suffered a lot after going ahead by two goals. We must benefit from what happened, and improve in the upcoming matches,” the Spaniard said after the match.
“On the offensive side, we were much better and could have scored more goals. Yet, we suffered defensively and were not good, but this win gives us confidence to do better in the future,” he added.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah said all players committed mistakes against Al Gharafa which the team must avoid in the upcoming matches.
“We will work to correct that with the coach in the coming days. We played well despite the mistakes and achieved a good victory that kept us at the top of the league,” the Algerian who has scored eight goals in the QSL season so far, said.
Al Sadd and Al Rayyan have met four times in the Amir Cup finals with The Wolves taking the title glory on three occasions.
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