Al-Ittihad coach admits there is a defensive crisis

Laurent Blanc, coach of the Saudi Al-Ittihad club, admitted that there was a defensive crisis in the team during his statements in the press conference before facing Al-Qadisiyah.

The Al-Ittihad and Al-Qadisiyah teams will meet next Saturday in a match within the framework of the seventh round of the Saudi League.

The Union succeeded in achieving 17 goals, and it is the second team in attack after Al Hilal, but it concedes the most goals from the top 6 teams.

Laurent Blanc said, as reported by Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper: “I agree that we have a problem from the defensive aspects.” But we have a strong offensive line, we have high quality offensively and we don't have the same quality defensively. Achieving victory and collecting points is what is important and is the source of happiness for the coach and the audience. Scoring a lot of goals is wonderful. Winning with one goal is completely boring, while scoring a lot of goals is a source of fun and happiness.

He continued: “We need to work more and the defense will improve with time. We have problems in the defensive system and individual quality. Our model of defenders is different and my view of football is offensive. Unfortunately, we did not settle with the defensive line duo, Omari and Danilo, who did not play 3 consecutive matches.” Also, I have Saad Al-Mousa, a great defender, and I am a defender and I know he is a great player.”

The French coach confirmed that losing possession is the secret of suffering against Al Hilal, unlike the rest of the competitors, as he said: “We do not need reverse pressure when we gain possession of the ball, but the problem is when we lose possession to our competitors, and so we suffer against Al Hilal because Their possession of the ball is higher than ours. We have to improve and work more on this aspect, but it remains good that we have possession of the ball most of the matches.”