Persepolis Coach Kartal Not Satisfied with His Team’s Performance against Al Hilal
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Persepolis football team head coach Ismail Kartal admitted his team struggled against Al Hilal's quality, especially in the first half.
The Saudi giant beat Iran’s Persepolis 4-1 at the Kingdom Arena on Tuesday at the 2024-25 AFC Champions League Elite.
“In the first half, we couldn't play as we wanted. Every ball that came into our area was dangerous, and we conceded goals. The team dropped mentally, and we had three, four players injured.
“We made some changes and altered the system in the second half. The players played with more confidence, and we didn’t make as many individual mistakes.”
The defeat meant the Iran side fell out of the qualification spots and will need a win to keep its hopes alive when they face Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr Club in their final League Stage match.
