The Al-Ittihad coach, Sergio Conceição, appeared in media statements following his team's 2-1 victory over Al-Nassr in the Round of 16 of the King Abdulaziz Cup, emphasizing the difficulty of the encounter and the importance of the win.

Conceição said: "We knew that the match would be difficult, as Al-Nassr is a team with an experienced coach and outstanding players, but the performance we delivered was a result of good preparation. I congratulate the players for what they presented today."

He added: "Since our arrival, we have been aware of the pressures, and every match we play is harder than the previous one. We always try to be in optimal readiness despite the limited time, and even in the face of the difficulty of recovery between matches, we continue to work hard. Winning a match like this gives us a strong boost, but we haven't achieved anything yet, and we must focus on the next match."

Regarding the refereeing, the coach clarified: "I won't talk much about the refereeing, as I also make mistakes, but I believe the referee was not successful today. The problem is not in the mistake itself, but in the repetition of mistakes."

Conceição continued: "I would be dissatisfied if we didn't create chances, but today we had five clear chances. We are working to reach those dangerous areas and will analyze the performance to improve our exploitation of opportunities in upcoming matches."

He concluded his remarks by praising Al-Nassr's coach, saying: "All respect to Jorge Jesus, as he was my coach in my early playing days, and he is among the top five coaches in the history of Portugal. Jesus knows how to change the team's shape and motivate his players to give their best, elevating them to a higher level of performance."