According to reports, Laurent Blanc, the French manager of Al-Ittihad football team, expressed his disappointment with his team’s poor performance after their 2-0 defeat against Al-Fateh in the 28th week of the Saudi Pro League. He admitted that his team did not deserve to win.

Blanc said in the post-match press conference: “We did not deserve to win. The team that deserved the victory was Al-Fateh. We played very poorly; they took control of the game, and this result is natural. This is the first time since my arrival at Al-Ittihad that we failed to score, which is very disappointing.”

He continued: “This was our worst performance in this season’s competitions. We must forget this match and focus on the very important upcoming game against Al-Ettifaq in Jeddah.”

Blanc also addressed the absence of key players due to injury: “Yes, we missed several important players due to injuries, but that should not be an excuse for this defeat. We lacked both individual and collective performance. Even the opportunities we had, like the penalty, were wasted. We must be mentally and physically better prepared for future matches.”

When asked if his team underestimated the opponent, he stated: “I always respect all teams. I have always considered Al-Fateh a respectable team. The lineup we started with was not a sign of disrespect, but the reality is that we did not perform at our usual level today.”

With this defeat, Al-Ittihad remained at the top of the table with 65 points, but their lead over second-placed Al-Hilal was reduced from seven to four points, increasing the pressure in the title race for Blanc’s team.