Al Rayyan coach Poya Asbaghi spoke to the media ahead of their 2024-2025 season Ooredoo Stars League Week 2 match against Al Duhail.

“A big match between two strong teams, who succeeded in achieving victory in the first match. Al Duhail made many changes from last season, as they made good contracts. They have a stronger team this season and I expect them to be different and fight for titles, especially since they will not play in the AFC Champions League this year, unlike teams such as Al Rayyan, Al Gharafa and Al Sadd who will play in the AFC Champions League Elite, so they will play to win, but we have the motivation to achieve victory.

“Al Duhail have many solutions, unlike Umm Salal, who played on counterattacks. We will give everything we have to the match in order to achieve victory. We need to avoid mistakes against Al Duhail and exploit their mistakes.

“Our goal is always first place and we are not looking for second or third place, so the ambition this season is to compete for championships. We will work to develop the team’s performance.

“The Al Duhail match is just three points and that winning or losing will not affect anything now since we are at the beginning of the league, but Al Rayyan will play to win, and the players will provide their 100 per cent,” said Asbaghi.

Al Rayyan player Murad Naji said, “The Al Duhail match will be very important. We showed in the first match our goal in the league championship by defeating Umm Salal and the match was complicated, but with spirit we succeeded in returning. We respect all league teams, but Al Rayyan’s ambition is first place, we have a long season that includes the AFC Champions League Elite and many other championships.

“Our preparations as players are like for any match, whether it is Al Duhail, Al Sadd, Al Wakrah or Al Shahania. In every match we play, we give our best and play our way. This match with three points is important for us and for them. The stadium will determine the winner according to each team’s preparation. We have our fans who give us great motivation. In the first match against Umm Salal, the fans made us feel like we were playing a cup final. I want to win a championship with the club I grew up in, which is Al Rayyan. I have achieved what anyone would wish for in the league, but my return to Al Rayyan represents something else to me.”