Al Ahli Coach Jaissle Delighted for Draw against Esteghlal
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The winning run may have been halted but head coach Matthias Jaissle was delighted that Al Ahli Saudi football team fought back to salvage a 2-2 draw in the AFC Champions League Elite 2024-25 tie against Esteghlal on Monday.
Having already confirmed its knockout stage spot on Matchday Five, Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli had to claw back twice against its opponents from Iran with Jaissle taking home the positives.
“As we expected, the match was strong and difficult against a physically robust team. Esteghlal was not only strong in physical confrontations but also effective in set-pieces, scoring two goals from very few chances,” said Jaissle.
“However, the result is positive, and most importantly, we remain unbeaten in the tournament.”
Jaissle, however, admitted that Al Ahli was undone by its lack of precision in the final third.
“If we look at the statistics, we didn't only rely on penalty kicks to reach Esteghlal's goal. We reached the final third and created many chances, but we lacked the final touch,” Jaissle concluded.
