Al Gharafa coach Andrea Stramaccioni spoke to the media ahead of their 2021-2022 season QNB Stars League Week 7 match against Al Rayyan.

“For the first time I feel angry at the loss because we were coming from two good performances, against Al Sadd and Al Khor. We can maintain our level in this match that is very important and I think it is time to look to a higher level of the team and some players. I am not going to talk about individuals but they are the things we talk about between us.

“It is a very short period between the matches and for me when the result is bad in a match I prefer to play the next match as soon as possible. This gives us the opportunity to show a strong reaction on the field. Of course, this will not be easy. We will get the players back and we will see their conditions because this match is important and what you talked about is not an excuse.

“We must offer more in the upcoming matches and facing Al Rayyan is different for everyone. Its importance exceeds the issue of ranking,” said Stramaccioni.

Al Gharafa player Almahdi Ali said, “For the next match, regardless of the fact that the two teams came from a loss, the match between Al Gharafa and Al Rayyan is always strong.

“As for the loss to Al Wakrah, I think we made a bad start, but in the second half we performed well. Al Wakrah surprised us with a goal and we could have made a comeback and won the game, but we were not successful.

“Our preparations for the Al Rayyan match are as normal as any preparation for any match, but such matches have a different character in performance, and we have to be fully prepared psychologically, physically and tactically and do our utmost to win the three points.”