How strong are Pakhtakor’s chances in the AFC Champions League Elite? Opposing coach admits

In the AFC Champions League Elite qualifying play-off, Tashkent’s Pakhtakor hosted Jordanian side Al Hussein and secured a convincing 3–0 victory. At the traditional post-match press conference, Al Hussein head coach Ahmad Hayel Ibrahim answered journalists’ questions and shared his views on the real reasons for the defeat and its tactical details.

“A lack of match practice and small mistakes decided the game”

The Jordanian club’s coach said that the team’s long absence from competitive matches, as well as the adaptation process of newly signed players, directly affected the result:

“As I mentioned at yesterday’s pre-match press conference, I specifically spoke about our lack of match practice. We have not played a single competitive match since May. In addition, it has been less than a week since the new players joined our team. These factors seriously affected us today. We are currently preparing for the new season, while Pakhtakor are already halfway through their league campaign and in very good form. Small mistakes on the pitch decided the game — Pakhtakor made the most of the errors we committed. I congratulate our opponents on a deserved victory,” said Ahmad Hayel Ibrahim.

Press conference Q&A: The logic behind the tactics and substitutions

— After your team conceded the third goal, you made three substitutions at once. Would it not have been better to make those changes earlier, at the start of the second half?

— As I mentioned earlier, we had players who had only just joined the squad. I consider it a good performance and result that they were able to play 45 minutes in such a high-tempo match. In football, mistakes happen all the time.

— Al Hussein created virtually no dangerous chances today. What was the main reason? In fact, your team was capable of playing much better and with more attacking purpose...

— The main problem is that we have not started the new season yet. Although we have been attending training camps since June, we had no competitive match practice at all. Pakhtakor, meanwhile, are already midway through their season and in top condition. Taking all this into account, we started the game with a defensive 5-4-1 formation. After conceding, however, we were forced to change our approach.

— How do you assess Pakhtakor’s chances in the AFC Champions League? What do people in Jordan know about Pakhtakor?

— Pakhtakor have many high-level and talented players. I think they can perform very successfully and creditably in the AFC Champions League Elite.

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