'We deserve more': Blanc demands improvement from title-chasers Al Ittihad | OneFootball

Laurent Blanc called for more from his Al Ittihad side after the title challengers were made to work incredibly hard for their victory against Al Kholood on Saturday night.

The 2022-23 Roshn Saudi League champions, aiming to draw level with Al Hilal at the top of the table, had to fight back from two goals down within the opening 23 minutes at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sport City to eventually triumph 4-3.

Al Ittihad’s comeback was headlined by a Steven Bergwijn brace, the Dutchman's second putting the hosts 4-2 up just after the hour and seemingly on their way to a 15th victory from 18 RSL matches this season.

However, Myziane Maolida struck in stoppage-time – his second of the encounter also – to set up a frantic finish. Yet Al Ittihad stood strong to grind out the win and pull to 46 points. As such, they sit second behind champions Al Hilal only on goal difference.

Asked afterwards about his side’s initial struggles against Al Kholood, Blanc said: “I don’t know the reason. If I knew the reason, I’d change it. Normally we have a deal with the team that we play 10 minutes with pushing up, and it was not Ittihad pushing, it was Al Kholood. They push and they play very well, and they score two goals.

“And Iwe made a lot of mistakes. OK, after it was better; after 20-25 minutes, we returned in the game. In the second half, we had the first 10 minutes very good, when we had the possibility to score five goals. But unfortunately, we conceded another goal and, in this moment, we don’t have control of the game.

“It’s a real problem for us. So we need to work very hard, because we deserve better.”

Meanwhile, Blanc confirmed that Moussa Diaby was left out of the squad against Al Kholood for physical reasons. The former Aston Villa winger, who returned last week following a lengthy injury, remains the 2024-25 RSL’s lead assist maker, with 10.