Galtier: We were able to increase yields against Abha

Frenchman Christophe Galtier, coach of NEOM, expressed his complete satisfaction with the level and performance of his team against Abha, in its victory, in the Saudi Professional League competitions.

Galtier said, during the press conference after the confrontation: “I am very satisfied with the level of my team; In the last three matches, we did not perform at our usual level, and we only scored one goal, but today we scored two goals, and we could have come out with a greater result, and we also came out with a clean sheet, which is a very good thing.”

In response to Asharq Al-Awsat’s question about the reason for Polish goalkeeper Marcin Bulka’s absence from the team’s roster in today’s match, the French coach explained: “During yesterday’s training session, Bulka suffered an injury that forced him to rest from today’s match, and after conducting the necessary medical examinations, it was decided that he would be absent for ten days to rest and recover.”

In turn, Croatian Damir Buric, coach of Abha, acknowledged the right of his competitor, NEOM, to win. He said: “A well-deserved victory for the NEOM team. They played a better game than our team. We played four consecutive matches away from our stadium, and this only happened with us.”

The Abha coach explained the extent of the technical and physical suffering facing the team: “Only four foreigners played with us due to the successive injuries that struck our ranks, and this same thing happened in the matches against Al-Hilal and Al-Qadisiyah, due to the repeated injuries and great physical exhaustion that the players suffer from.”

Informed sources revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Abha Club’s Board of Directors has threatened to submit a collective resignation, in the event that the Financial Control Committee of the Saudi Professional League does not respond to the management’s request to change Croatian coach Damir Boric, in light of the club’s efforts to resolve the issue of the technical staff.

According to the sources, the name of Algerian coach Noureddine Ben Zakri stands out among the names nominated to take over the technical leadership of the team, in the event that the expected change is completed, amid anticipation of what the administrative moves will result regarding Buric’s future.

Abha had lost its match in the 11th round of the Saudi League against NEOM 2-0, and in all it has not tasted the taste of victories yet, and is in last place with only two points from two draws, and appears to be one of the teams most threatened with relegation unless its situation is rectified with urgent solutions on the technical and racial levels.

NEOM regained its winning tone in the Saudi Professional League, with its convincing victory over Abha 2-0 in the confrontation that brought them together in the 11th round of the tournament.

In the past three rounds, NEOM tied with Al-Hazm, and lost to Al-Ettifaq and Al-Nasr respectively, but it succeeded in regaining its ambitions to compete for an advanced position among the seniors this season.

Algerian Saeed Benrahma scored the goal for NEOM in the 15th minute, from a pass from Frenchman Alexandre Lacazette, the team's striker, who himself scored the second goal in the 50th minute, and also from Benrahma's pass.

NEOM raised its score with this victory to 19 points in sixth place, ending the series of negative results that began with a draw with Al-Hazm, then a loss from Al-Ettifaq and finally from Al-Nasr, the defending champion. As for the newly promoted Abha, they are still suffering in terms of results, and are in last place with only two points.