Jesus warns Al Hilal against complacency after first-leg win
Jesus expects his Al Hilal SFC side to keep their foot on the pedal when they meet Al Ittihad in the second leg of their AFC Champions League quarterfinal next week.
The four-time Asian champions took a firm grip on the tie with a 2-0 win in the first leg on Tuesday but Jesus saw glimpses of complacency in his side’s performance which he said could cost them in the return leg.
“We got another important win against a strong team. We scored twice in the first half and should have added more,” said Jesus.
“In the second half, I think after the red card (for Al Ittihad’s N’golo Kante), the players thought it would be easy to score the third goal but this didn’t happen. I think the level of confidence today was more than it should have been.”
The Portuguese tactician admitted that he spoke with his players about keeping possession as Al Ittihad tried to find a way back after Aleksandar Mitrovic and Salem Al Dawsari had given Al Hilal a 2-0 lead to take into the break.
“I talked with the defenders, specifically Ali Al Bulayhi, to make sure not to lose the ball at the back.
“We will continue what we always do, and you would have noticed that we rotate the players due to the high volume of matches.”
Meanwhile, Al Ittihad head coach Marcelo Gallardo refused to concede that his team’s hopes of a third AFC Champions League title are over.
“I reminded the players in the changing room that the story is not over, and with this spirit when we play in front of our fans, we can come back and qualify for the next round,” said Gallardo.