MEF - French manager Bruno
Metsu believes Al-Ain managed to overcome Esteghlal after dictating their
very own game to the Iranian opposition, in the aftermath of the resounding
3-1 victory tonight.
“Esteghlal showed they are excellent in counter-attacks in their opening 2
fixtures here in the tournament. We relied heavily on the very same approach
after the equalizing goal and managed to score twice, and deservedly won the
game,” he stated.
Al-Ain, who forced their way to the semi-finals stage of the Asian
Champions’ League quite easily after topping Group C following 3 successive
wins over Al-Hilal 1-0, Al-Sadd 2-0 and Esteghlal 3-1, are now gearing up
themselves to take on Chinese outfits Dalian, Group B ultimate winners.
“Frankly speaking, I didn’t expect scoring 3 goals after the interval;
still, our all-round assessment of the opposition prior to the game itself
paid off at the end of the day,” added a euphoric Metsu.
“We emerged as the tournament’s most complete and competitive side, winning
all 3 games, boasting the best attacking line and conceding just one goal –
now it’s up for us to find the winning formula again next April against
Dalian of China,” |