Portuguese coach Ricardo Gomes, manager of Al-Fateh, expressed his pride in his players' performance despite their 2-1 loss to Al-Nassr in the 22nd round of the Saudi Professional League. During the post-match press conference, Gomes emphasized his satisfaction with the team's fighting spirit and technical level, particularly in the second half.
Gomez's analysis of the match and the reasons for the loss
In his post-match comments, Gomes explained that his players, especially in attack, gave their all and performed at their best. He said, “I’m satisfied with the strikers, but we faced a team with world-class players in every position. We tried to match them, and the chances were evenly matched and few for both sides.” The Portuguese coach attributed the loss to some individual defensive errors that led to the goals conceded, adding, “We played against a strong team, and we made defensive mistakes that Al-Nassr capitalized on thanks to the high quality of their players. That’s the difference in such big matches.”.
The general context of the confrontation in the Roshan League
This match comes amidst an exceptional season for the Saudi Professional League, which has garnered global attention after attracting major international stars, most notably Cristiano Ronaldo, captain and top scorer of Al-Nassr. This significant transformation has noticeably raised the level of competition, making every match a challenging one, especially for teams with limited budgets and young players, such as Al-Fateh. Gomez alluded to this point, saying, “We are playing with academy players in a strong league that includes big stars, in addition to some financial challenges facing the club. But despite all that, I am proud of what the players have delivered; in the second half, we were the better team.”.
The importance of the match and its impact on the teams' standings
For Al-Nassr, these three points were vital to continue their pursuit of league leaders Al-Hilal and close the gap in the title race. As for Al-Fateh, the team hoped for a positive result to improve their position in the standings and move away from the mid-table. With this loss, Al-Fateh's points tally remains at 24, temporarily placing them tenth in the Roshan League standings. This puts pressure on the team to bounce back in the upcoming rounds to secure a position befitting their history as a club that previously won the title in the 2012-2013 season.
