"They defended really well," Laurent Blanc congratulate FC Goa on ACL draw

The former France & PSG manager also revealed that he thought the Gaurs began the game brightly.

FC Goa held Qatari outfit Al Rayyan to a goalless stalemate and created history by earning their first point in the AFC Champions League. Al Rayyan, managed by former France & Paris Saint-Germain manager Laurent Blanc, were overwhelming favourites ahead of the fixture but the Frenchman was visibly disappointed with only a draw.

The French tactician spoke in the post-match press conference about topics ranging from FC Goa, missed chances and more.

On FC Goa's defence

Laurent Blanc lauded the organization of FC Goa and felt that the Gaurs had great discipline in their defending. However, he also rued the missed chances as Al Rayyan created many chances in the first half.

"We had two teams with very good organization, Goa being more defensive and they had a discipline and even we defended well," he began.

"But, we also had the possibilities to win the game but we did not score. So in football in India or even in France, if you don't score you don't win. I think my team deserved to win today because they created a lot of possibilities but a lot of respect for FC Goa as they gave their best," Laurent Blanc added.

Losing control of the game

FC Goa enjoyed good spells of possession and remained rigid to their gameplay. They almost had 47% of possession during the first half, albeit it was in their own half. Speaking about whether he expect this gameplay from FC Goa, Laurent Blanc highlighted the areas where Al Rayyan lost control of the game.

"We saw a lot of games of FC Goa and I thought they really started the game well and we lost control of the game," Laurent Blanc revealed.

"It was only in the 65th minute we came back in the game and created many possibilities to score goals. We could have at least won 1-0. But, congratulations to Goa as they defended really well tonight, congrats to all the players and the people. It was a tight game and they finished it with one point. Good!"

Thoughts on Al Rayyan's performance

Despite an impressive performance from the Gaurs, Al Rayyan created many chances and controlled the game for larger spells. The French tactician clarified how a goal would have forced Ferrando's men to push forward, creating more space for them to work with.

"To be very honest, I wanted to win the game. I brought my team here to win games. It is big pressure for me and the team as controlling the game is very important," he quipped.

"I think my team gave their best and the only thing bad tonight were the occasions we had to score goals. If we had scored one goal, then the game would have become more open because then FC Goa would have tried to score allowing us more space at the back," Laurent Blanc opined.

"But, it is very, very difficult to play against teams who are so close and are defensively very strong," he concluded.

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