The French coach Laurent Blanc of Al-Ittihad spoke about today's match against Al-Najma and how it was a great motivation for them, adding that he is sure that all teams aim to win against them, and that today's match was difficult given the challenging conditions of the temperature.

Blanc said during the press conference after the match: “I am sure we will perform better in the upcoming matches, and we believe in the players and our fighting spirit until the end of the match, and that is what is happening.”

He added in his remarks: “Today the conditions were not ideal, the temperature was high, and as a result, the players were exhausted at the end of the match, and I thank them for their performance.”

He continued: “I am not thinking about Al-Nasr; we have a match in the cup, and our focus is currently on it. Every match has its own circumstances, and we think about each match separately.”

When asked why he opted to substitute Simitch for Al-Shanqeeti, he replied: “For a simple reason, it is a technical decision; I have my reasons as a coach. Al-Jilidan has not participated for two months, and the requirements of a full-back require a fast player, and I was concerned about him getting injured.”

He concluded his statements: “Abdulrahman Al-Aboud may have previously been tried as a full-back, but in the end, I have a player who came in by my choice.”