Portuguese Bruno Lage, coach of the Diriyah team, confirmed that the short recovery period before facing Riyadh will not be an excuse to look for excuses, stressing the importance of readiness and choosing the most appropriate lineup to achieve victory, with the team playing the match after a preparation period that does not exceed one training session.
Lage said in the press conference: “We prepare for the match through one training session, and the recovery time is less than 72 hours. “I want to watch the players and how they work, determine the best way to win, and choose the 11 most ready players.”
Regarding Riyadh getting more than eight days to prepare, compared to 72 hours for Diriyah, he explained: “This is the scheduling of matches, and we need to be ready at all times. “We don’t want to make excuses, we want to talk about the facts.”
The Diriyah coach touched on his team's failure to achieve victory on its home field so far, stressing that his goal is to build a team that has a winning mentality in all matches, regardless of the opponent or the stadium.
He said: “We deal with each match individually, and this is what we want: to win.” We want to build a team that has the ambition to achieve victory in every match, regardless of the opponent or the stadium. Our record away from home is better than our record at home, and we need to play with a winning mentality in all matches.”
In response to a question about the team’s reliance on two centre-backs in the three matches in which it won, and the impact of that on its future technical options, Lage expressed his disagreement with this proposal, citing the Al-Ettifaq match, and stressing the difference in technical plans according to the requirements of each match.
Regarding the next match against Al-Ittihad, the Portuguese coach stressed his focus on the next match against Riyadh, saying that he cannot prepare for a match that is still preceded by another match, stressing the importance of dealing with each match in its time.
Regarding refereeing errors and the possibility of using foreign referees in future matches, Lage explained that his focus is on developing the team’s performance, noting that he took over the job three months ago, and he participated in only six training sessions with the players.
He added that the team deserved a penalty kick against Al-Qadisiyah, and he also believed that the video assistant referee technology should have called the referee to review the penalty kick and return it, stressing at the same time the need to focus on the missed opportunities and mistakes committed by its players, and stressing that it bears responsibility for the team’s development and its results.
Regarding Diriyah’s failure to maintain its lead against Al-Taawoun and previous matches, Lage attributed this to wasted opportunities, explaining that his team wasted 5 or 6 chances in the last match, while the opponent scored from a single cross, stressing that exploiting opportunities represents the solution to avoid repeating these scenarios.
The curtain falls on Tuesday evening on the tenth round matches; Al-Nasr will receive its counterpart NEOM at the “First Park” stadium in the capital, Riyadh, while Al-Ittihad will be a guest of Al-Ettifaq in Dammam, Al-Taawoun will receive its counterpart Al-Qadisiyah in Buraidah, and Al-Diriyah will meet Riyadh at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium in the capital.
Al-Nasr enters the match ecstatic about its victory over Al-Diriyah with three free goals in the eighth round, before its absence from the ninth round due to the postponement of its confrontation with Al-Ahly, to return to the local competitions with the ambition of obtaining three new points that strengthen its position in the race for leadership.
Al-Nasr is counting on its attacking force, led by its Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, his compatriot Joao Felix, Senegalese Sadio Mane, Brazilian Angelo and Frenchman Koeman.
Al-Nasr realizes the importance of not giving up points, especially in light of the competition with Al-Hilal and Al-Qadisiyah for the first places, in addition to having a postponed match against Al-Ahly, which may give it an additional opportunity to strengthen its score during the next stage.
On the other hand, NEOM arrives in Riyadh looking to compensate for its loss to Al-Ettifaq with a free goal in the ninth round, a result that halted its progress in the standings, after it was looking forward to continuing to approach the leading teams.
NEOM hopes to present a different performance against Al-Nasr, and prove its ability to compete with the teams competing for the lead, relying on a group of prominent names, led by Algerian Saeed Benrahma, and French striker Alexandre Lacazette.
Nyom will be required to show a greater degree of offensive effectiveness, after he was unable to score against Al-Ettifaq, especially since facing Al-Nasr requires investing in the opportunities available to a team that possesses great offensive capabilities.
In Dammam, Al-Ettifaq receives its counterpart Al-Ittihad at Al-Ittifaq Club Stadium, facing a gathering of two teams looking to strengthen their positions in the standings, even if their circumstances differed before the match.
Al-Ittihad ranks fourth with 17 points from eight matches, while Al-Ittifaq is in seventh place with 15 points from nine matches. This gives the confrontation additional importance in light of the close points balance between the two parties.
Al-Ittihad enters the match looking to restore its winning tone, after losing to Al-Hilal 3-2 in the eighth round, before its confrontation with Al-Shabab in the last round was postponed.
The Federation's recent stumbles were not limited to local competitions; It suffered a loss to Shabab Al-Ahly of the Emirates, with a score of 2-1, at Al-Enmaa Stadium, in the AFC Champions League elite competitions. Which puts the team before a new test to regain its balance and reconcile its fans.
Al-Ittihad is aware that any new stumble may make its task more difficult in reducing the gap with the leading teams, especially with the intense competition for first places, despite the fact that it has a postponed match that may help it improve its position.
As for Al-Ettifaq, he enters the match in high spirits after he succeeded in defeating NEOM with a free goal in the ninth round, achieving his fourth victory this season, raising his score to 15 points.
Al-Ettifaq hopes to invest in the ground staff and the public to continue its progress, especially since the victory over Al-Ittihad will give it the opportunity to surpass its competitor in the ranking table, and get closer to the advanced positions.
In Buraidah, Al-Taawoun receives its counterpart Al-Qadisiyah at the club’s stadium, facing a gathering of two teams living in completely different circumstances. The visitors are chasing the top spot in the standings, while the hosts are looking for their first victory in the league this season.
Al-Qadisiyah reaches the confrontation with 22 points, after continuing its positive results by defeating Abha with a score of 2-1 in the last round. To strengthen his presence in the lead race.
Al-Qadisiyah aspires to continue collecting points and not give up any opportunity that might give it an advantage in the competition for the summit, especially with the approaching confrontation against Al-Hilal in the next round.
Northern Irishman Brendan Rodgers, coach of Al-Qadisiyah, had stressed after the Abha match the importance of dealing with each match separately, stressing that he would not be busy facing Al-Hilal before preparing for the Al-Taawoun match.
Rodgers attaches great importance to rotating players in light of the pressure of matches, after he pointed out the fatigue that appeared on some members of his team during the last confrontation, after returning from Uzbekistan, where Al-Qadisiyah played a match against Pakhtakor in the AFC Elite Champions League.
On the other hand, Al-Taawoun enters the match in seventeenth place with four points, after tying with Diriyah 1-1 in the last round. To continue his search for his first victory in the league.
Serbian Vuk Razovic, Al-Taawoun coach, hopes that his team will succeed in exploiting the ground and crowd staff against Al-Qadisiyah, especially since the team is in dire need of a victory that will restore confidence to its players and help it leave the lagging positions.
In the capital, Riyadh, Diriyah will meet Riyadh at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium, in a confrontation during which the two teams will look to strengthen their scores and move away from the late positions.
Diriyah enters the match in eighth place with 12 points, after tying with Al-Taawoun with a goal for each team in the ninth round.
On the other hand, Riyadh is in twelfth place with nine points, after missing the last round after its match against Al Hilal was postponed.
Riyadh is looking forward to returning with a positive result that will strengthen its position in the rankings and give it a morale boost during the next stage.
Italian Giovanni, Al-Faisaly's coach, considered that the draw that ended in his team's match against Al-Shabab was fair for both parties, despite his belief that his team was close to achieving victory, praising his players' return to the match after falling behind by two goals.
Giovanni said, during the press conference after the match: “We played a good match, and I think the result was fair for both teams. They both showed a good level, and the confrontation was largely balanced.”
The Al-Faisaly coach expressed his reservations about some of the refereeing decisions, saying: “I have doubts about the last game in which Sharif was alone with the goalkeeper, and I also have question marks about counting stoppage time, especially since the game did not witness many stops that required adding that time.”
Giovanni congratulated his players for coming back in the result after falling behind by two goals, stressing that the draw at Al-Shabab was not easy, given the circumstances of the match.
In his response to Asharq Al-Awsat’s question about what his team lacked to achieve victory, after establishing its advantage during periods of the confrontation, Giovanni answered with a smile: “Scoring a third goal.”
He added: “We created many chances, but we wasted them and did not succeed in translating them into goals. In the end, I think the draw is fair, as Al-Shabab also played a good match and missed many chances.”
Regarding his conversation with the players between halftime, he said: “I spoke to them after the end of the first half, and stressed the need to double the effort and intensify the work in the second half.”
Giovanni touched on the state of emotion that appeared in him during the match, explaining that he objected to some of the refereeing decisions, and said: “The result was in our favor, and I made it clear to the referee through the clock that time had expired. I was also surprised that he did not stop to return to video technology, and I am not happy with some of the arbitration decisions.”
He added: “Al-Faisaly may not be as big as some of the big clubs in the league, but everyone must respect it, especially with regard to arbitration decisions. The referee does not refer to video technology in some important cases, and I demand justice and the application of the same standards to all teams.”
Regarding the early exhaustion of substitutions, the Al-Faisaly coach explained that his decision came with the aim of adjusting the result and revitalizing the team, saying: “I was forced to make changes in order to adjust the result and restore vitality to the players, especially since fatigue was evident on some of them, in light of playing a match every three days.”
