Marcel Koller, the head coach of Egyptian club Al-Ahly, spoke about his team's performance in the match against Sudan's Al-Hilal, which ended with the Red Giant winning 1-0 in the first leg of the African Champions League quarter-finals, confirming that the team was the best and deserved the victory.

Koller said: "It was a strong match, we dominated the game for most of the periods, while Al-Hilal tried to create problems for us, but they did not succeed as required. If we had been more precise and aware, we could have scored one or two additional goals."

He added: "Qualification is decided over the two legs, and this is what I emphasized to the players. We achieved an important victory, but we still have another match to officially secure qualification."

He continued: "I was happy with the group that started the match, and when a player comes off the bench, it is difficult for him to quickly get into the rhythm of the game."

He went on: "Akram Tawfik is still a player at Al-Ahly, and I deal with players according to what they deserve and their performance in training, regardless of any future speculations regarding his departure."

Regarding the missed opportunities and the lack of offensive effectiveness, he said: "It is related to quality and the ability to finish attacks. Our players possess this quality, but luck was not on our side in some opportunities, just as a journalist might write a poorly constructed article sometimes."

When asked about the impact of the holiday break on the players, he replied: "There was no negative impact; we entered a camp for two days, and the players were fully focused without any distractions."

And when asked about not playing the summit match against Zamalek, he said: "We are playing in the quarter-finals of the African Champions League, so I hope the questions focus on this context."

He confirmed: "Achraf Bencharki was not limited to playing only on the right side; he moved freely according to our tactical plan."

Regarding the players' nervousness towards the referee, he said: "It was not only the players; I was also frustrated by some refereeing decisions that affected the course of the match."

He concluded: "Yahya Attia Allah had a good match, and the competition within the team makes it difficult to involve all players in every match."