DOHA: Lekhwiya coach Djamel Belmadi has praised the performances of Al Rayyan and Al Arabi, saying the two sides have done well in the first phase of Qatar Stars League (QSL).
Al Rayyan, who were demoted to the Second Division at the end of the 2013-14 season, won a promotion to QSL last season.
Coached by Jorge Fossati, Al Rayyan have emerged as the points leaders after two rounds of QSL.
Al Arabi, coached by Gianfranco Zola, are also unbeaten in the first two games so far.
“Both these sides have large fan bases and it is in the interest of Qatar football they play well,” Lekhwiya coach Belmadi said.
“These two sides have ambitions to do well and so do we,” he quickly added.
“When strong sides do well, the level of the game improves all around,” Belmadi said.
Lekhwiya, the defending champions, take on Al Kharaitiyat on Saturday in their second match this season.
“I think it will be a strong game,” Lekhwiya said about his next opponents. “They have good players. We have to play to our potential to get a positive result,” he said.
When asked about injury concerns in his camp, Belmadi said: “Dame Traoré has been injured for a year and a half but he has a strong desire in to play more as he seeks to return to the national team again.”
“We will be playing to win, there’s no doubt about that,” Belmadi said.
“We know the games won’t be easy but we have what it takes to maintain our charge for the QSL title,” he said. “Our target is to get away from the other teams in terms of winning matches,” he said.
When asked about Lekhwiya’s 3-1 win over Qatar SC last week, Belmadi said: “We have forgotten that match. We are looking toward other teams now,” he added.
“I think Al Kharaitiyat will have extra bite in their play since they lost to Al Rayyan,” Belmadi said.
“Al Kharatiyat capable of creating problems for big teams. I expect a tough fight,” he added.
The Peninsula
