Al Rayyan’s players and officials celebrate after win over Al Hilal.
Head coach Nicolas Cordova praised Al Rayyan’s tenacity following their 2-0 win over defending champions Al Hilal SFC in Group A of the AFC Champions League 2022 on Wednesday.
Yohan Boli’s effort at the stroke of half-time after an own goal by Al Hilal’s Jang Hyun-soo gave the Qatar Stars League side a deserved victory over Al Hilal.
Al Rayyan, who have already qualified for the Round of 16 ahead of Wednesday’s match, finished with 13 points behind Al Hilal on goal difference, advancing as one of the three best second-placed teams.
Victory over Al Hilal at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium will go down as one of the best wins the Qatari club has ever achieved against the Saudi Arabia side.
“We were not at all expecting an easy match against Al Hilal,” said Cordova.
“They are a good team that play with plenty of possession in games and we were relying on our counter-attacks, which we succeeded in doing. We finished second and I’m happy with the result.”
Al Rayyan needed to score more than three goals against the defending champions to finish top of the group but despite coming up short, Cordova underlined the team’s mentality and what they have achieved.
“When I started with Al Rayyan it was very hard but we managed to get through the technical aspect of our game. My players and I have been working very well together this season and we beat Al Hilal today. We created a good harmonisation between the players during our training camp in Doha.”
“There are no shortcuts to success. The secret to defeating Al Hilal is perseverance. The players have put in hard work day in and day out. I don’t have to teach them much. When they step onto the field, each player knows what they have to do. They have been showing the right attitude since I started coaching them and that is the big difference,” the coach added.
