Roberto Mancini, the coach of Al Sadd, has raised the banner of "no alternative to victory" in the match against Al Ittihad, as part of the eighth and final round of the West Group in the AFC Champions League for the elite, which will be held at Hamad bin Jassim Stadium on Tuesday.

Mancini said during the introductory press conference: "The preparations are good, and facing Al-Ittihad is tough, but all matches are difficult. For us, it is important to achieve victory, and we have a chance to qualify."

He added: "We are playing against a great team like Al-Ittihad, and everyone is ready. We will give our all to qualify for the next round of the Asian elite."

The Italian coach pointed out the difficulty of the match, saying: "Playing against a team that has already qualified will not be easy. Al-Ittihad is delivering great performances and is one of the biggest teams in Asia, and its position in the standings is good."

Mancini concluded his statements by affirming: "Al-Ittihad is an excellent team with or without Karim Benzema. They have a good coach and delivered a strong performance in the league stage. We will enter tomorrow's match with the sole aim of winning."