Al Ahly coach Marcel Koller suggested that the lack of early support from the fans had an impact on the performance against CR Belouizdad.
In the post-match press conference, Koller said, “Today’s match was extremely difficult, primarily because the fans did not support the players strongly at the start. That, in itself, is a loss. In football, setbacks can happen.”
He added, “We didn’t play well in the first half and fell behind, but we managed to equalize. During halftime, I spoke to the players about the need to play positively, and we succeeded in scoring five goals in the second half. We have tough matches ahead, and we need to concentrate fully during this period.”
Koller continued, “Our fans are fantastic, and we know they have the right to be upset sometimes. However, we expected their full support today, considering how challenging the match was. No player intentionally performs poorly. I don’t think any team wins all the time. We aim to win every match, but occasionally, setbacks occur.”
When he was asked why players didn’t celebrate with the fans after the victory, Koller stated, “I’m proud of our fans, and we need their presence. But respect must be mutual from all sides. How can you insult a player before the match and then expect things to be fine afterward? It’s difficult to reconcile under such circumstances.”
Koller concluded: “No player can play 90 minutes without making mistakes. If I punished every player for every mistake, eventually, I wouldn’t have any players left to field.”
Al Ahly turned a 1-0 deficit into a stunning 6-1 victory, marking their second win in the group stage and elevating their points tally to seven, securing the top spot in Group C.