“The performance was very good and I feel proud to have these players,” said Jaissle. “We have played four matches with four wins and I think we played the best match this season. We applied the style I wanted and the fans deserved this performance and result.”

“There are many reasons behind this performance, including the participation of Firas Al Brikan as a striker. I’ve always spoken highly of him, and one of the reasons for the victory was our good pressure. It is important that we benefit from this performance and transfer it to the (Saudi Pro) league.”

Al Shorta head coach Ahmed Salah attributed the defeat to the tough circumstances his team faced as well as Al Ahli Saudi’s quality.

“We apologise to our fans, the circumstances of the match were very difficult. We entered the match with a big deficit and the differences were big,” said Salah. 

“Al Ahli Saudi are a very good team and we also face pressure in the Iraqi league as in 10 days, we played four matches.”

Both sides will face teams from the United Arab Emirates with Al Ahli Saudi taking on AFC Champions League™ 2023/24 winners Al Ain FC, while Al Shorta will look to revive their campaign against Al Wasl.