German youth coach Thomas Leach expresses his regret after the derby loss to Al Hilal

German coach Thomas Leach, Al-Shabab’s coach, expressed his regret following the loss in the derby match against Al-Hilal, with a score of (2-0), in the fifth round of the Saudi Professional League.

Leitch said during the press conference that followed the derby match: “For today’s match, we were good during the first half, but in the second half we conceded the first goal after losing the ball, and then we conceded the second goal, making the match very difficult for us. When you play against a team the size of Al Hilal, you need to be at an excellent and strong level throughout the match in order to be able to win.”

The German coach added, explaining the details of the performance and the missed opportunities: “I asked the players to play with balance and very high concentration, and we succeeded in making the match difficult for Al Hilal, but the opponents punish you immediately for naive mistakes and score goals from them. If we had taken advantage of the first opportunity that Carrasco had and scored, the result of the match and its calculations would have been completely different.”

Leach touched on tactical errors and necessary changes, saying: “It is true that we lost many balls in the build-up process during the second half, specifically the ball from which Al Hilal scored the lead goal and we were supposed to avoid it completely. We did not make the right decisions in passing today, especially on the part of Ali Al Asmari, who was unable to play a full match and I replaced him, as I do not have an alternative full-back to make that substitution.”

In response to a question about the shortcomings and positions that the team needs in the Mercato, he explained: “As a coach, I focus completely on the team and the players available to me, and we do not forget that we have influential absences such as Dhari Al-Anzi, and Thomas Partey, who is suffering from injury. We do not have a bench and the quality of players with the same strength and depth as Al Hilal, but I will not complain at all and I have full confidence in the sports director and the club president to attract and bring in new players.”

The Al-Shabab coach concluded his statements by talking about the balance required in front of the opponent’s offensive power, saying: “The balance process is very important, and Al-Shabab is always looking for a balance between the offensive and defensive lines. Al-Hilal has a striking force and very distinguished elements such as Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves, and Gabriel Martinelli.”